Thessian Rhapsody
by Theodur
Summary: The Reapers and the Cerberus have been defeated, and the Galaxy is left to rebuild. But peace does not simply... happen. It still needs to be nurtured and fought for. Join Spectre Morgan Shepard, Liara T'Soni and their daughter in their post-war adventures, also featuring familiar faces like Aethyta, Aria, Tevos, Garrus, Tali, Miranda, Kasumi and many others.
1. No Rest For The Wicked

_A/N: Well, hurrah. I return, and with a new story to boot. So, you might ask, what can we expect from this story and how long will it be? Well... the idea is to cover the next 200 or so years in the lives of our heroes after the Reaper War. So, as you can gather, it could be a very long story. :) (unless rocks fall and everyone dies)_

_There are some changes from Rhapsody In Blue, most notably the change of tense. Present tense served well to present the urgency of war and constant action, but this story will be less driven by conflict, and thus I have reverted to the normal past tense. Also, the posting schedule will be two chapters per week, Mondays and Thursdays. _

_With the Reapers gone, some of you might wonder who will be the new antagonists in this story. Well... I'm sure I'll be able to think of something. One potential enemy shows up in this first chapter, to remind us of their existence. Also, I can safely promise that the Reapers and Cerberus will not be making a comeback. I find it is more interesting for me to come up with new villains, instead of beating up the same old horse over and over again. Good villains know to stay dead. _

_Lastly, you might wonder whether it's necessary to read Rhapsody In Blue to understand what's going on in this story. I think that it helps, but should not be necessary. I have kept the involvement of OC's to a minimum, so you will not be confused by a cast of characters you do not recognize. _

_That said, there are certain changes such as non-canonical pairings like for example Kasumi/Bau, Traynor/Jack, Grunt/Kurin, Aria/Tevos (and their friendship with Liara and Shepard). Among other things that might confuse new readers could be Rila and Falere both being alive in this story, Shepard and Joker not being on speaking terms, or where is this or that character that seems to be missing from the tale. Do not be afraid to send me a PM or ask in a review about anything that you want me to explain. :) _

_And finally we can be off! The story begins roughly 1.5 years after the Reaper War. _

* * *

**Chapter 1 - No Rest For The Wicked**

_Year 2188 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

Several months had passed since Shepard and Liara's arrival on Thessia. Several months, filled with hard work in rebuilding what was to become Spectre Morgan Shepard's new homeworld. In combination with helping Liara look after their newly born daughter Lita, the efforts left them both exhausted yet satisfied as they retired to sleep every evening in the large and partly renovated T'Soni Estate, left to Liara by her mother, Matriarch Benezia.

The reception that they had received upon their arrival to Thessia onboard of the Destiny Ascension had been very touching and emotional, the mere memory of it tugging on Shepard's heartstrings. Despite the planet being in a bad shape and requiring gigantic effort to restore everything to the pristine pre-invasion state, it seemed as if every asari in the vicinity of Armali had arrived to greet them, some even traveling across half the planet to witness the arrival of Thessia's most famous daughter, her chosen mate and their child.

Not having prepared any speeches, Liara had almost succumbed to panic when the crowd had demanded her to address them, and the young maiden's nervousness had spread to her daughter, who had promptly started wailing, inconsolable. Fortunately, Matriarch Lidanya had been with them, accompanying the couple on a shuttle from the Destiny Ascension. Lidanya had addressed the crowd, charismatic and imperious, speaking of Shepard and Liara's toils and sacrifices, and their hard road in saving the galaxy from extinction, stressing the need to put all their bickering aside and focus on rebuilding the homeworld. Lastly, Lidanya had insisted that despite their glorified status, Shepard and Liara's privacy was to be respected at all costs, if not for their sake, then for their daughter's.

All these months later, Morgan still felt gratitude to Lidanya for settling that situation. While still very curious and intrigued about everything concerning Shepard and Liara, the local asari population had managed to reign in their interest and give them the privacy they sometimes craved for. Not that they wanted to act like some kind of creepy recluses, far from it, they worked shoulder to shoulder with the other inhabitants of Armali, together clearing the grand avenues from rubble, restoring communications, supply chains and everything else to make their planet comfortably habitable again.

Of course, they could not escape the attention of the crowds completely, but sometimes the attention was truly touching in ways they hadn't expected it to be. For example, one morning their breakfast had been disturbed by a gathering outside the gates of the T'Soni Estate. Aethyta had stormed outside with violent intentions to break the crowd up, however, she had returned only minutes later and asked Liara and Shepard to accompany her to the balcony, because they simply needed to see what was happening.

They had walked out to witness a crowd of perhaps sixty or seventy young asari maidens, each bringing with them gifts of gratitude, starting to speak one by one as soon as Liara and Shepard emerged into view. "My name is Norinia Taliri, and I am 73 years of age. Before the war, I was going to try and join the Eclipse sisters," the first maiden spoke. "Now, I'm going to become an engineer so that I can best help our people. Thank you for showing us that there is another way for maidens like us, Dr. T'Soni!"

"My name is Koreen Veneo, and I am 92 years old," another one raised her voice. "I was going to waste my maiden years by dancing in the nightclubs of the Citadel, but you opened my eyes, Dr. T'Soni. Instead, I'm going to study to become a physician."

"My name is Elenea Tarisei, and I am 97 years old," another voice piped up from the crowd of gathered maidens. "I was about to head out with a band of mercs to stir trouble in Terminus Systems when the Reapers arrived. You've shown us that the way we spend our maiden years is wasteful, Dr. T'Soni… so I'm going to study and become a teacher instead."

And so it had continued for good while, Shepard and Liara not daring to interrupt any of those present, giving every maiden a chance to thank Liara and lay down their gifts in a growing pile. In the end, once everyone had been given their turn to speak, Liara stepped forward on the balcony, bursting with emotion and close to tears as she addressed those gathered below. "Words cannot express the pride I feel from hearing your passionate words and I am touched to the bottom of my heart," she had spoken, then turning towards the very surprised Aethyta before continuing. "But it is not just me who you should be thanking. Many years ago, my father preached the same to the matriarchs, but she was left ignored and cast out because of her opinions. I feel as if your mere presence here vindicates all the efforts she made to try and make us understand that just because we have been blessed with our long life spans, it does not mean that we should simply throw precious centuries away wastefully."

Cheers and applauses broke out at Liara's words then, all heads turning to Aethyta who only managed to nod stiffly, then quickly turning around and retreating swiftly back to the estate, not trusting herself being able to keep a straight face and unwilling to appear emotional in public. Of course, as lovely as this gesture had been, they all knew that there would still be plenty of asari maidens who would stick to the old ways of living the first few centuries as wildly as they could, but Liara felt that even if they had managed to change the point of view of at least some, it was still a big success.

A week after their arrival on Thessia, the first geth transports began to pour through the Parnitha System relay. Despite the reassurances of all Tevos, Aethyta, and other prominent figureheads on Thessia, there was still plenty of lingering skepticism about the once hostile synthetics. However, despite some initial misunderstandings, the geth quickly proved their usefulness with their work. The progress on relay repairs was immediate, and within a month and a half, the Parnitha System was once again reconnected to the rest of the galaxy, some of the geth moving on to do their engineering magic on other relays, the majority remaining to help with the repairs and rebuilding groundside. With the comm buoys also in place, Thessia began to receive daily news from the Citadel and Sol System, and as weeks passed by, the geth and the local populations in every corner of the galaxy slowly restored normalcy to the galactic wide exchange of information.

At some point, Liara's remaining family on Benezia's side had paid them a visit at their estate, Liara's aunt Niline together with her two daughters, seeking to curry favor with someone whose word now held great weight amongst their people, especially the younger generation who sometimes went as far as to take every word Liara uttered as spoken law. Neither Shepard nor Liara were naive enough not to see through Niline's true intentions, to simply use Liara for her benefit and gain influence for herself and her daughters. Before the war, the most contact between them was due to Niline seeking to contest Liara's rights to her mother's estate, something that she now apologized for profusely at the end of every sentence, but her transparent manner left Liara cold and unimpressed.

"Politics hold little interest to me, Aunt Niline, I do not seek fame, glory or influence, not for myself nor the T'Soni clan," she had said simply, in a calm, reassured voice that brook no further argument. "I have informed you know once already that there is only one person amongst the asari who I trust enough to allow her to represent me and lend her my voice. That person is my father. In her public addresses, Matriarch Aethyta speaks for me as part of her kin, the N'Ilandi clan."

Niline had lost her calm then, uttering various venomous insults towards Aethyta in particular, claiming that Liara demeaned herself by throwing her lot in with a less influential clan, mentioning that since Benezia had broken up with Aethyta and hidden her existence from Liara, this was obviously not what her mother had wanted. Having heard this and several other candid insults, Aethyta's already short krogan patience quickly ran out and Aunt Niline's exit from the T'Soni Estate became slightly more spectacular than initially intended. While Shepard was a little unhappy about having already made an enemy on Thessia, Aethyta assured them that Niline was too much of a coward to ever try something serious against Liara.

Thinking about their life on Thessia so far, Morgan felt very pleased with how things had progressed. Most of the time she felt happy, the presence of Liara and their daughter made certain that the grin on her lips was a permanent feature, and with everyone around them being accepting and genuinely happy to have someone as distinguished as Shepard herself gracing them with their presence, it all helped to keep Morgan's darker thoughts and occasional depression away.

Now and then she did slip back into the old ways, overcome by her memories of Earth, of the people lost, the decisions she regretted having taken... it was all still there, sometimes making her sit in a chair for hours, staring at one point in the distance, stuck in a vicious loop of self-hatred. Whenever Liara caught her paralyzed by her traumatic memories, she liked to employ what they both called 'baby therapy'. Liara would place Lita in Morgan's lap, herself settling to sit at Shepard's feet, pressing her back against Morgan's knees. The toddler would soon enough get Morgan's attention with her cries and kicking, and Shepard would begin to tickle and play with her daughter, eventually slipping out of her gloominess, a trick that had never failed to work so far.

Morgan was relieved that Liara also appeared happy, at least for the most part. Her attentions were mostly on Lita, fussing terribly over their daughter as if trying to make up for all the foolish things she had done during her pregnancy. Whenever she could find the time, Liara always joined Shepard in her work out on the streets, leaving Lita for a few hours with Aethyta, her father always happy to sit with her granddaughter. The books that Liara had started to write back on Earth were for now left abandoned, but as she said herself, some things were just more important right now.

Sometimes, when Morgan and Liara melded their consciousnesses, Shepard was almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of guilt pouring forth from Liara, mostly concerning the way she had handled her pregnancy, at first not telling Shepard about it, the very timing of the pregnancy itself, way too early before the recommended age at which asari should have children, knowing that her rash and foolish decisions, made out of fear of losing every connection with the love of her life, should Shepard perish in the battle against the Reapers, had led to their daughter being slightly handicapped compared to normal asari children.

For now, thankfully the only deviation that Dr. Lorisia aboard the Destiny Ascension was able to identify was that Lita's biotic potential was about 40% of that of an average, but that was enough to now and then send Liara in bouts of depression. There was also the fear of more symptoms occurring as Lita grew and developed further, and while Morgan did what she could to send through all the love and comfort to Liara during their melds, the asari kept slipping back now and then, both of them requiring more time, patience and understanding to chase these dark moods away.

With the relay of Apien Crest becoming functional once again, messages from Garrus and Tali seemed to come in almost every other day, Liara and Morgan always replying promptly, delighted to hear from their closest friends. Just like Shepard and Liara on Thessia, Tali and Garrus were busy in trying to restore some order to Palaven, from their pictures and descriptions it had suffered much worse than Thessia, and almost as bad as Earth.

For now, the dextro couple had settled to live in a small prefab next to Garrus' family, occupying a prefab of their own. Tali occasionally appeared a little frustrated when speaking of her future in-laws, especially regarding Garrus' father, but she often described their arguments with humor, and spoke with particular fondness of Solana, Garrus' sister, having found in her a friend and an unexpected ally in support of their relationship.

Overall, news coming from Palaven painted a slightly more glum picture compared to the rapid resurrection of Thessia's infrastructure. The planet had been rendered close to inhabitable, and some turians in the upper echelons of power had seriously suggested abandoning Palaven and seeking a new homeworld. Eventually, such talk was dismissed, but work was slow and difficult, and the turian reluctance to allow the geth landing on the surface of Palaven or Menae was hindering their restoration efforts, no matter how much Tali and Garrus campaigned to take the geth up on their freely given offer of aid.

For several months, while waiting for the Apien Crest relay to be restored, Wrex and his krogan clans became stranded on Palaven, unable to return to Tuchanka. It did not take long for the krogan to become a constant source of frustration for the turians. With no Reapers to shoot and not feeling overly motivated to help turians rebuild their homes, Wrex was having a hard time keeping his people under tight reign. Again, it had taken Shepard and her reminder that the actions of the krogan were being watched and evaluated by the entire galaxy, playing into the decision whether to grant them a seat on the Council or not. With the help of Grunt and Kurin, Wrex had then promptly cracked a few heads, making sure that the rest of the krogan toed the line. And with the relay now restored, the krogan had finally boarded the transports and were now heading back home to Tuchanka, while the turians breathed a collective sigh of relief, even if the entire galaxy continued to watch worriedly what would be the next steps taken by the krogan.

Messages were also coming in from Discovery, the capital of Horizon, from both Samantha Traynor and Miranda Lawson. After witnessing the circumstances surrounding Shepard's retirement from the Alliance, Samantha had felt that some of her commitment to the cause of humanity had evaporated, she felt burned out and wanted to return to her roots on Horizon. Jack had decided to hitch a ride with her new squeeze, and they both were currently helping out on the Alliance colony world, trying to figure out what to do with their lives once they had finished rebuilding.

Miranda had written only once, but the message was very lengthy and detailed, the ex-Cerberus operative as always very thorough in describing the select parts of her life that she chose to share with others. The tone of the message was overall happy and positive, Miranda appeared extremely proud of her sister Oriana. For now, they both were helping out with volunteer work in a local hospital, their contribution so impressive that they had already received offers regarding permanent employment. While Miranda herself did not appear willing to commit to something long term, she was hopeful that Oriana would choose to accept the proposition, feeling that her sister needed some stability in her life, after everything she had gone through.

The messages coming from the Citadel were the most frequent, however. Councilor Tevos made sure to keep contact with Shepard very often, partly because she undoubtedly wanted their most famous Spectre to stay updated with all the latest issues at the heart of the galactic civilization, but mostly because the friendship they had formed shortly after the Reaper War continued to grow and deepen, and both Tevos and Aria, as well as Rila and Falere wrote often to both Morgan and Liara.

And there was certainly a lot of interesting information to share. A few weeks ago, the scientists had finally begun their work, first to discuss all options on how to best move the Citadel back to its previous location in the Serpent Nebula. Manufacture of the required eezo cores and transportation to shift the station back to Widow System would require several years at the least, and with every species concentrating on rebuilding their homeworlds, save perhaps for the salarians, the Citadel being stuck in the Sol System was not at the top of the list of immediate concerns.

Recent report by the Westerlund News channel had claimed that the quarians were close to receiving their invitation to join the asari, turians, salarians and humans on the Galactic Council. Councilor Tevos neither confirmed nor denied it when speaking with Shepard and Liara, only hinting that they needed to be careful that krogan didn't go berserk over being slighted and not receiving the invitation first, even if they hadn't really contributed much to the galactic community after the end of the war, unlike the industrious quarians. Somewhere in all of this, the volus had also found their voice, starting to complain about being ignored once again, but since the galactic economy was in shambles anyway, their threats to destabilize it only drew confused stares from the councilors.

Shepard and Liara also often heard from Dr. Chakwas and her colleague, Dr. Michel, the two having grown into close friends and now seriously considering opening a private clinic of their own. Steve Cortez wrote often as well, knowing that Shepard would want to be updated on Joker's condition ever so often. Morgan and Jeff had parted on poor terms, Joker blaming her for EDI's death and several other associated things, but according to Cortez, living on the Normandy, even if the ship still remained grounded at the Citadel, had a calming effect on Jeff and he was slowly coming out of his bitter, depressed shell.

The one person who wrote perhaps most often, or at least as often as Tali, was Kasumi Goto, being stuck on the Citadel with her salarian Spectre boyfriend, she appeared to have said goodbyes to her career of a thief, at least for now. Especially when Bau did not have some Spectre mission with which she could help out, Kasumi seemed utterly bored, playfully blaming Shepard for making her too recognizable on the galactic crime scene and ruining her career, though in all honesty she did not appear to harbor too many regrets about that. However, due to the amount of silly messages she forwarded to Liara and Shepard daily, Morgan sincerely hoped that Kasumi would soon find something more worthwhile to do.

Having spent a few months with their lives settling into a by now familiar pattern, Morgan and Liara were both surprised when on one mild winter morning, Aethyta dropped a message on Shepard's omni-tool, informing her that someone wanted to speak with her through the QEC in the Armali City Council building. Knowing that it was most likely a call from one of the councilors on the Citadel, Shepard headed over without much delay, grumbling a little that apparently the councilors had not listened when she had asked to be given a few months off active Spectre duty, to help Liara with their daughter and aid in the rebuilding of Thessia. And speaking of Liara, despite the message apparently being addressed to Shepard alone, she had insisted on coming along, bringing a slightly disgruntled Lita with them.

Taking the short flight from the suburbs of Armali to the sprawling city centre where Shepard herself worked together with the asari and the geth every day, Morgan could not help but notice with pride that there were several districts of the city that almost looked restored to their pre-invasion glory. The Armali City Council building lay in one such district, and Matriarch Aethyta awaited them at the entrance, quickly snatching Lita from Liara's arms, giving her daughter some half-hearted tongue-lashing about bringing the baby out all this way. Liara and Shepard were escorted to the communications center at the back of the massive administrative complex, which also housed the QEC.

As soon as she activated the connection, Shepard's suspicions regarding the identity of their contact were confirmed. "Shepard, thank the goddess," a rather nervous looking Councilor Tevos T'Naori exclaimed, her image appearing before Morgan and Liara.

At seeing the councilor's distressed state, Shepard immediately swallowed her readied accusation of breaking the promise not to bother her and Liara for a while after settling on Thessia. _But she's more than just my boss, now. We are forging a wonderful friendship... and friends never refuse a friend in need._ "Councilor Tevos, always a pleasure," Morgan nodded pleasantly. "You look distraught, what is the matter?"

Tevos hesitated a little, noticing Liara standing next to Morgan. "Liara... I am happy to see you as well," she said eventually. "It is good that Shepard brought you. The matter I must discuss with Shepard might concern you as well, so my initial request to only speak with Shepard was erroneous. I apologize for my poor judgment, and hope that you can forgive me."

"I couldn't really take offence because we still don't know what this is all about," Liara reminded, smiling gently at the councilor.

"Yes. Yes, of course," Tevos managed tiredly, raising a delicate hand to rub her brow, looking unusually distracted and faint. "It's... about Aria."

"Do you have news?" Shepard asked quickly. It had been over a month since they had last heard from the Pirate Queen. Following the repairs of the Charon Relay, she had begun gathering forces with which to return to Omega and reclaim it for herself once again. She had scrounged up several ships filled with mercs of dubious parentage and loyalties, and then said her farewells to Tevos, Rila and Falere before taking the relay jump back to Sahrabarik System.

"I do," Tevos replied, wringing her hands nervously. "Aria's efforts have not met with success, I'm afraid."

"What? Is she alright? Where is she?" Morgan demanded urgently. Despite Aria's abrasive behavior and tendency to mess with her and Liara's heads, the couple felt deeply attached to the Queen of Omega, after everything they had gone through together in what could have been the last days of the galactic civilization as they knew it.

"Her initial plan failed. The mercenaries that she had hired received a better offer from the current leadership of Omega and promptly switched sides, leaving Aria on her own," Tevos spoke angrily, landing a weak blow with her balled fist against one of the comm consoles.

"They... kicked Aria off the station?" Shepard blinked. She had expected only one outcome, Aria arriving on Omega in victorious triumph, being welcomed back by her appreciative subjects. "Who are the leadership of Omega, anyway? The Reaper mutants are all dead, some remains of Cerberus?"

"No, most of the Cerberus also perished, at least those who were deeply indoctrinated," Tevos explained. "I understand that Omega is now controlled by a mostly turian mercenary group called the Talons. They have even offered amnesty to all the ex-Cerberus soldiers who survived the destruction of the Reapers."

"Ugh... someone on Omega displaying mercy, and to those least deserving of it?" Morgan scowled. "What are they, some kind of misunderstood turian saints?"

"I'm afraid I do not have more intel for you, Shepard. They do appear to be acting... surprisingly benevolently, and the station's inhabitants have responded favorably to the changes, at least so far," Tevos said with a shrug of her shoulders. "They clearly view Aria as a threat, however. And knowing that Aria won't admit defeat... I fear for her."

"Understandable," Morgan nodded. "Do you know what she intends to do?"

"She spoke of coming up with another plan to attempt, and I have not heard from her since," Tevos said, now clearly struggling to keep her emotions in check. "I... don't like breaking my promise, Shepard, but... there's nobody else I can turn to, I cannot reveal my involvement with Aria by asking another Spectre to handle this, not yet..."

"You want me to go to Omega and help her," Shepard stated, watching Tevos nodding slowly. "Damn it, Lita is not even six months old, and already I'm being asked to abandon her and Liara. I... I do want to help Aria, but..."

Tevos bowed her head, covering her face with her palms. "Please..." she whispered.

"Is the Omega Nebula relay operational, Councilor Tevos?" Liara asked suddenly.

"I sent a team of engineers with Aria's forces," Tevos replied in a muffled voice, not removing the palms from her face. "I cannot say whether they have been successful."

"Then it is a risk," Liara said, turning aside to face her bondmate. "But a risk that you should take, Morgan. Aria saved your life on the Citadel, and she saved the life of our child... she is our friend, we cannot abandon her at a time like this."

Shepard nodded slowly, her feelings mirroring Liara's words. "Will you... will you be alright without me?" she asked softly, taking her bondmate's hands in hers.

"We will manage, do not worry about us," Liara replied, smiling as she leaned closer to press a reassuring kiss on Morgan's lips. "My father is so good with Lita, she will be a great help. It will be fine, and you will be back with us soon."

"Thank you both, thank you ever so much," Tevos breathed out, relieved. "I will organize a transport to pick you up shortly, Shepard. How will I ever be able to thank you for coming to my aid again?"

"Well, Councilor..." Morgan smiled, turning back to face the QEC. "Whenever you manage to move the Citadel out of the Sol System... because I sure as hell am not going back there ever again... but whenever I'm back on the Citadel next, I would like to listen to you, Rila and Falere performing something for us. That is all the reward I ask..."

* * *

_2181 Despoina, Psi Tophet System _

_'Unacceptable. This rift is of inadequate size for our needs. Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp stepped on my tentacles again.' _

_'I did not. That was Hlunnvr'ogth'lobstrr. And this rift is of perfectly acceptable size for our needs.' _

_'I thought our needs were to rule the galaxy as it befits us.'_

_'Yes, with the Reapers gone, it is time for us to reclaim our rightful place at the head of the galaxy.' _

_'Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn, do not be foolish. Remember The Shepard. The dangerous organic is still alive and vigilant.' _

_'She is just one organic.' _

_'The Reapers defeated us effortlessly, to our great shame. The Shepard defeated the Reapers. Ergo, The Shepard, while a mere organic, is not to be underestimated. If she could defeat the Reapers, think of what she could do to us.' _

_'It is unbearable to have an insignificant organic standing in our way to domination.' _

_'Organics do not live long. We need only be patient.' _

_'We could hasten her demise somehow.' _

_'That remains an option. But first, we must rebuild our network of thralls, restore our eyesight, order them to spread the control orbs through the galaxy.' _

_'I have searched the minds of the pitiful organics currently under our influence. They are unimpressive, as expected... save for one, this... Riley-human. She has shared a bond with The Shepard in the past. The memories were hidden deep, and it caused this Riley-human great suffering as I pulled them from her puny mind. These thoughts were filled with conflicting... concepts that we do not recognize. It would appear that The Shepard has been... important to this Riley-human in the past.' _

_'It could be something we can use. Continue to examine the mind of this Riley-human. Search for more information about The Shepard. Perhaps we can learn of a weakness.' _

_'Further deep probing of her pathetic mind might destroy the vessel.' _

_'Irrelevant. The information about The Shepard is more important than survival of this Riley-human.' _

_'It would be preferable if this Riley-human would survive. Searching through the mind of this organic revealed training that would make her a very capable field agent to serve our needs.' _

_'Then we leave the decision in this to you, Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn. We trust that you will act in the best interests of the Leviathan.' _

_'Meanwhile, we will watch and observe, we will bide our time and wait for our opportunity, and when The Shepard will no longer be a threat, we will rise from the bottom of the ocean to reclaim-... you stepped on my tentacles again! Hlunnvr'ogth'lobstrr, watch where you put your claws!' _

_'That was Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn, not me. And I agree, wise Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp. We will plan our actions carefully... our opportunity will arrive soon, we only need to be patient and wait.' _

_'We could have been waiting in a rift with more tentacle space.' _

_'Oh, do be silent.'_


	2. Alpha And Her Omega

_A/N: So, time for Aria to retake Omega... but, this isn't really following the plot of the DLC. Not even remotely. For one thing, Cerberus as an organization is no more, so it's Aria vs. Talons. :) Also, I know that some of my readers have been wondering about how... nice and domesticated my Aria has been in the previous story. Well, this is my chance to show Aria in her... natural habitat. And she's an entirely different animal on Omega. :) _

**Chapter 2 - Alpha And Her Omega**

_Year 2188 CE  
Omega, Sahrabarik System _

Shepard's only companions on the small transport vessel sent by Councilor Tevos were four trusted asari commandos, handpicked by the councilor herself. As soon as they made the relay jump to Sahrabarik System, the commando at the helm of the ship called Morgan up to the pilot's cabin to answer the incoming transmission from Omega Control.

"Omega Control to unidentified vessel, state your name and purpose," from the subtle subharmonics in the speakers voice, it was easy to place them as a turian.

"This is Morgan Shepard, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, here on behalf of the Galactic Council," Shepard replied, keeping her voice calm and confident. "I request docking clearance for this old piece of junk that passes as my ship."

"Spectre Shepard? ...uh, just a moment," the turian at the Omega Control seemed stunned, perhaps even a little frightened, just the type of reaction Shepard had been hoping for. Having spent a minute or so discussing the matter with someone amongst his superiors, the turian finally got back to her. "Very well, Spectre Shepard... you are clear to proceed to the Docking Bay 33-A. You will be met by the station security as soon as you leave your vessel. Come out alone and keep your weapons holstered."

"Roger that, Omega Control," Shepard replied, smirking a little as the connection was terminated.

Shortly afterwards they approached the magical red mushroom in the sky, as Morgan liked to think of Omega, the commando pilot having been here many times before and easily finding her way to the designated docking bay. Reminding the asari crew to stay put under any circumstances, Morgan quickly gathered all her gear and disembarked from the transport, finding an entire greeting committee waiting on her. At least two dozen of the Talon mercs had surrounded the docking bay, as an impressive looking turian female, flanked by two of her lieutenants, stepped up to greet her.

"Ah, the famous Spectre Shepard," the turian woman said, approaching her. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Nyreen Kandros, leader of the Talons mercenary organization."

"And the _de facto_ leader of Omega, if I'm not mistaken," Shepard replied, shaking the offered hand. Turian males were so much more common outside of Palaven that Morgan always felt a little odd facing the females of their species, it almost felt as if their heads looked all wrong without the crest, as if they were missing something crucial. Her red face paint made her look a bit like a misguided Red Cross missionary having made the wrong turn somewhere and ended up stranded on Omega.

"I lead only because the population of Omega approves of what I have been doing, unlike with the previous leaders," Nyreen Kandros replied.

"Do you refer to the rule of Cerberus and this General Oleg Petrovsky or do you speak of one Aria T'Loak?" Shepard asked.

"I have come to realize that those two have quite a lot in common," Nyreen said stiffly. "Even if Aria would probably kill me if she heard me making such a claim."

"Well, I don't really think Aria experimented on her people to turn them into Reaper mutants," Shepard remarked idly.

"True. I will give her that much," the turian nodded her head. "Come, Spectre Shepard... walk with me, and tell me what leads you to Omega?"

Shepard began to walk in step with Nyreen, the two lieutenants and the rest of her forces following in a respectful distance, weapons at the ready, as they slowly made their way towards the Afterlife. "The Council are sending their Spectres to every corner of the galaxy to survey the situation after the destruction of the Reapers," Morgan replied. "Obviously, Omega is a very interesting and important location, and the Council felt the need to act upon these rumors of change in leadership. So, I'm here to find out just what we can expect from Nyreen Kandros and the Talons."

"You will find the new leadership of Omega far more reasonable to deal with than its previous rulers," Nyreen Kandros stated confidently. "But please, Spectre, let me make this easy for you, let's not waste each other's time with these lies. I know the real reason why you are here."

"Do you, now?" Shepard's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"You are here because of Aria T'Loak."

"Really. And you know this because..."

"Because she told me so herself," Nyreen said. "She sought to intimidate me by claiming that the famous Spectre Shepard herself is at her beck and call, and that Shepard would swoop in to her aid. Yes, she was bragging quite a bit about that. Of course, I dismissed it all as posturing... I suppose I have now been proven wrong about that, but it changes little."

"And where is Aria currently? Is she even still alive?" Morgan demanded, feeling part worried, part irritated at the Pirate Queen. _Well, I guess I should have expected her to act like that, though. It's maybe even a bit flattering that she dropped my name like that... and she probably loathed to admit that she expected someone's help._

"Please, Shepard... unlike Aria, we are not murderers," Nyreen spoke, just a little haughtily. "We are keeping her restrained, but otherwise unharmed. You have come to help Aria, we are going to cooperate and show our goodwill to the Council. You can take Aria with you when you leave. We will even give food supplies for you and your crew, so that you do not starve in those five to six months until you reach the Council space."

"...wait... you mean the relay is not operational?" Shepard blinked, turning pale, stunned from the shocking news. _Oh, for the love of god, I won't see my bondmate and my daughter for half a year? Someone will die for this!_

"Of course, how could it be operational?" it was Nyreen's turn to look surprised. "In fact, barely a month ago we caught some geth skulking around the relay and trying to sabotage it even further. Since it coincided with Aria's arrival, we believe that she might have brought those geth with her."

_GAH! She... she didn't just say what I think she did? They shot the geth engineers who came to repair the relay? Oh gods... I should just shoot her for that... so stupid! Okay, now I'm really pissed off... hmm, though I suppose she couldn't have known that we've made peace with the geth. Shit... what a fucking mess! _

"Err... you didn't stop to consider why Aria T'Loak would care to sabotage the relay even further? I mean, it doesn't make much sense, does it?" Shepard asked.

"Perhaps not, but they were geth, so we didn't stop to ask questions," Nyreen shrugged. "But it is obvious that the Council possesses technical know-how to repair mass relays. We would be interested in opening negotiations to see Omega Nebula connected to the galactic relay network again."

"I'm sure something can be arranged," Morgan replied distractedly, still a little unsettled from the realization that she was completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to retrieve your prisoner and be off as soon as possible."

"Of course, Shepard," Nyreen bowed her head. "I had hoped that you would allow me to show you more of what Omega is like when controlled by the Talons, so that I can convince you that I can do a better job governing this place than Aria T'Loak did. These people have suffered enough, they do not need a tyrant, they need someone who can protect them and give them hope."

"And that's you," Morgan added, unable to keep a little disbelief from seeping into her voice. _Or... maybe she is right. On our way here, I didn't see any outbreaks of violence in the streets, everything seemed surprisingly calm. Sure, security seems tighter throughout the entire station, but it's not just the Talons that I saw, plenty of armed civilians, experienced mercs, everyone working more or less together to keep order... Aria just allowed people to shoot each other as they pleased, as long as her interests were not harmed by it._

"Yes, I believe that's me, and the people support what we have done so far," Nyreen replied. "Now, my people will lead you to Aria's cell and then back to the docking bay," she added, nodding to the two lieutenants. "Remove her biotic restraints only when she's at the docking bay. I do not trust her... but I have faith that a Council Spectre will not betray our agreement."

Morgan decided not to reply anything to that statement, wanting to speak to Aria first. The two turian lieutenants together with most of their backup led Morgan to a part of the Afterlife that she had not seen previously, lower levels with private chambers where the dancers sometimes took a customer to whom they had taken a particular liking, or who simply wanted to be relieved of all their credits. Apparently, Nyreen did not approve of such entertainment, because Shepard did not hear any lustful moans coming from these pleasure chambers as the turians led her past them, eventually arriving at several holding cells at the end of the hallway. All of the cells were empty, save for one.

"Well, you certainly took your sweet time getting here," Aria T'Loak spoke imperiously, turning around to face her, glaring in annoyance at the heavy biotic restraints attached to her wrists.

"I only just found out some three days ago," Morgan shrugged, refusing to be irritated by Aria's posturing.

"Did she have to beg to get you come here? Or cry?" Aria asked, her voice harsh and demanding.

"No, she didn't have to do any of that," Shepard replied. "I mean, I was skeptical, but it was Liara who insisted that I accept the mission."

"Is that so? How unexpectedly sweet of her," Aria chuckled, looking amused. "But I knew you would not refuse, you're too gullible to refuse, Shepard."

"Alright, I get it," Morgan finally snapped impatiently. "You don't have to be such a bitch about it. I could decide to leave you to rot here, you know."

"You could... but you won't," Aria replied confidently, wincing and then glaring at the two turians who grabbed her by the elbows a little roughly to bring her out of the cell. From the look in Aria's eyes, Morgan sensed that the two turians were probably already dead, they just hadn't been informed of it yet. "So what's the plan, Shepard?" she demanded while the turians dragged her into the corridor.

"Apparently I'm going to be stuck with you and four sexy asari commandos for six months as we try to reach the Council space," Shepard shrugged, her annoyance growing again as she recalled her predicament.

"Sounds exciting," Aria drawled. "Nothing to do but to eat, sleep and fuck. Though I guess you'll be passing on the last one, Shepard. I don't envy you, to be honest. I mean, we'll probably be really loud." There was a lot of excited whispering amongst the turians now, forcing the lieutenants to shout at the others for a bit, and soon enough the procession was underway again, eventually leading Aria and Morgan out of the Afterlife and back towards the docking bays.

"Quite a change from my last time here," Morgan remarked, walking side by side with Aria, observing the unusual quiet and peace around them.

"I know, disgraceful, isn't it?" Aria looked angry and upset. "She has neutered Omega. Nyreen does not understand Omega, she never has and never will. Pathetic."

"I take it that you do not approve," Shepard remarked, not very astutely. "What irritates you so much, don't you think that your people deserve some peace after all this?"

"Shepard, you are not stupid... most of the time," Aria spoke after a moment's pause. "Surely you understand that these people are not like your civilians on the Citadel, Earth or Thessia. Peace and calm will make them weak and complacent, Shepard. When someone stronger will arrive to claim this place for their own, and they will, Omega is too attractive a target, they will be looking at Nyreen to protect them, instead of taking up arms and fighting themselves. A place like Omega can thrive only by the survival of the fittest, not by nurturing the weak."

"I know that's been the way in Terminus Systems for centuries, so you do have a point," Morgan nodded, as they finally arrived back on the docking bay, the four commandos having remained aboard the ship and looking on with interest at the proceedings outside. _I just hoped that perhaps things could change after the Reapers were gone from the galaxy... but it seems that the nature of those left to inhabit the galaxy has remained the same, not even Reapers being able to change who we are. _

"And there we go. Nyreen is sending the supplies, they will be here in fifteen minutes," one of the turians said, activating his omni-tool and punching in a command code. Once he was done, Aria's biotic restrains became loose and fell on the ground with a loud clonk. "You can wait for the supplies while aboard your ship. And one last warning, Aria, don't even think of coming back. We'll shoot you down before you can even dock."

"Oh, I do not plan to come back..." Aria said, that dangerous glint in her eyes that Morgan recognized as a sign that she was about to do something outrageous and unreasonable, mentally readying herself for incoming violence. "To be able to come back, I would first need to leave," the asari spoke in an alluring voice, stepping a little closer to the turian lieutenant who had addressed her so disrespectfully. "And I have no intentions of leaving!" she finished with a sharp yell, deftly grabbing the turian's Phalanx, pressing the heavy pistol against the man's abdomen and releasing three lethal shots, making him sag against her.

"Aria, what the hell!" Shepard shouted, drawing her Carnifex, the Talons already shooting at Aria, but with her biotic barriers, and using the turian's body as a shield, the asari was quite safe. She threw the bullet riddled corpse aside, glowing with her biotics as she lashed out with a massive burst that knocked half of the Talon mercs off the docking bay platform, sending them screaming as they plunged into the depths.

Tevos' commandos were now also jumping out of the transport, coming to their aid, and together, the remaining Talons were dispatched with ease. After the battle, Aria purposefully strolled over to Morgan. "What did you come here for?" she demanded furiously, making Shepard blink in surprise.

_To make sure you don't get yourself killed? To protect you from yourself? _Morgan thought to herself, quickly realizing that speaking something like that to Aria T'Loak, in front of four witnesses, would probably be the most insulting thing she say to Aria. "I came here to help you, Aria," she finally said. "To help you reclaim Omega, if that is truly what you wish."

"Good. For a moment there, I was starting to doubt your resolve," Aria nodded approvingly, then turning back to the commandos. "Sorry, girls, we're not taking that slow trip back to the Council space after all. Which also means I won't get to fuck all of you." The commando squad actually looked a little disappointed at that. "Shepard, we better take them along," Aria said, turning to Morgan again. "I have a feeling that Nyreen will soon be here with hundreds of her goons, so we better disappear."

"So it's six of us against the rest of Omega?" Morgan asked, blinking in disbelief. _What, I fought the Reapers and survived just to get killed while helping Aria get back her sandbox? Geez, that's fair._

"You should put a little more trust in me, Shepard," Aria's grin turned downright predatory. "I know Omega better than anyone. There's an entrance to a secret tunnel nearby, and it will lead us exactly where we need to be... and before you ask, yes, I do have a plan..."

* * *

An hour or so later, Morgan, Aria and the asari commando squad found themselves in one of the communication centers at the heart of Omega, the four Talon guards posted around it silently executed, and the two volus techs and a salarian engineer inside only too happy to switch sides again and swear their undying loyalty to Aria.

"So, what do we want in a comm center, Aria?" Morgan asked, still a bit fuzzy on the details of Aria's plan. "I thought you'd want to hit Afterlife, Nyreen seems to have taken the place for her headquarters, so she's probably holed up there. "

"That would be too crazy to attempt even for me, Shepard," Aria laughed. "She has too many reinforcements, last I checked. No, what we will do is... we'll create a massive distraction and draw her out. And once she is preoccupied... we will end the Talon reign on this station once and for all. Are you with me, Shepard?" she then asked in a little quieter voice, probably having sensed some indecision and doubts reflecting on Morgan's face.

"Yes, I'm with you all the way, Aria," she nodded resolutely, steeling herself. _It almost seems as if this Nyreen is someone decent and with a code of honor, and she would do well by her people, perhaps treat them far better than Aria... but Aria is a friend, and she has saved my life, saved the life of my daughter. I cannot even consider turning on her, I need to stand by my friend and do this for her... I must... _

"You," she heard Aria turning to speak to the frightened looking salarian, giving him a small OSD. "Will make sure that everyone on Omega sees this recording in exactly one hour from now. I know you can arrange it that every galactic news terminal, every advertisement stand will display what's on this OSD. Shepard," Aria moved back to Morgan. "Can we leave two of your commandos here, just to make sure these fools don't get cold feet? I have bad experiences with 'undying loyalty' as of late."

"Of... of course, Aria, we will do everything as we are told," the salarian rattled off nervously, as Morgan nodded to two of her asari escort to remain at the communications central, while the rest of them left to follow Aria again. After considerable time spent on tedious climbing through old and dirty ducts, they emerged in what looked like an apartment complex. Aria quickly bashed down a set of doors leading into an empty flat, and as soon as Morgan realized that the balcony of the apartment overlooked the entrance to the Afterlife, she began to see the vague outlines of Aria's plan.

"And now we play the waiting game," the Pirate Queen purred, standing on the balcony and look down at the plaza, time and time again checking her chrono to see how much time was left until the salarian engineer started the broadcast of whatever was captured on Aria's OSD. "Five more minutes. This a good spot for you to aim from, Shepard?" she asked when Morgan walked out on the balcony to join her.

"Should be fine," Morgan replied, taking out her Widow and peering through the scope, the entrance of the Afterlife clear in her sights. "Close to perfect. You want me to take Nyreen out when she shows herself?"

"No," Aria shook her head determinedly. "I want you to take out all of her bodyguards and as many Talons as you can, but leave her to me."

"Going to savor that kill yourself?" Morgan asked.

"Hardly. In fact, I am hoping that she will choose to surrender, much as she deserves to suffer for letting Petrovsky and some of the ex-Cerberus to get off the hook," Aria said, her words coming as a surprise to Shepard.

"Didn't expect you to show mercy to someone who has thrown you in a cell," Morgan said, looking at the asari, catching a glimpse of hidden emotions playing under her ice cold exterior. "Sounds like there's a story between you two."

"Yes, for a while I had chosen her to warm my bed, if you really must know," Aria snapped. "Then she decided that I was starting to corrupt her or something, and she left me. Nyreen was right, of course, I did try to free her from her inhibitions, but apparently I was unsuccessful."

"She didn't really seem like your type, Aria," Morgan remarked.

"Well, turian biotics are very rare, so she interested me. She was fleeing from the prejudice of her own people, and I sympathized with that," Aria shrugged. "But apparently that irritating and inflexible sense of honor and righteousness was too deeply ingrained even in a turian rebel. You would know, Shepard, you traveled with Vakarian," she added with a chuckle. "She just couldn't let go of what she was, and that was it, really. Anyway, I better give instructions to your commandos…" Aria said, checking the chrono again. "The show is about to start…"

In a few minutes, the full extent of Aria's plan was made clear to Shepard. As the salarian had promised, every news terminal and advertisement board went dark for a moment, before beginning to play the pre-recorded message, showing the footage of Aria walking back and forth confidently in an empty docking bay. "People of Omega!" the asari spoke in her address. "This is your Queen speaking to you. While some have tried to conceal this fact, I have returned to you, to once again assume my mantle as the Queen of Omega, to fight for this station and to protect it from anyone who threatens its safety!"

"Some will say that Nyreen Kandros and the Talons protect you now," Aria spoke with a sneer on her face. "They overestimate their own capabilities. The Talons have been a small time mercenary gang on Omega for decades, they will never be able to stand up to the might of the Eclipse or the Blue Suns, when they return to Omega in force. The Talons won't protect you the same way that I can!"

"Nyreen Kandros has no idea how to run a station this large. Already, Omega is experiencing shortage of supplies, and with the system being cut off from the galaxy, things will only become worse for as long as the Talons remain in charge! Nyreen and the Talons know that, they understand that their rule will last only for as long until the relay remains disabled. That is why they destroyed the team of engineers working on the relay which I had brought with me from the Council space." Aria's words were followed with a brief footage of the Talon turian fighters shooting at the research ships stationed around the mass relay.

"The Talons want to keep you trapped in the system at all costs!" Aria's passionate voice rose a pitch higher. "Nyreen Kandros speaks of caring and protecting the people of Omega, when the truth is that she keeps you here caged, holding you on Omega and denying you the chance to leave! People of Omega, I can change that! I can arrange for another engineering team to come and fix the relay, I can get the essential supplies flowing to Omega again, but I need your support! I need you to take up your arms and cast off these shackles Nyreen and her Talons have placed upon you! Help me throw these oppressors off the Omega, and you will once again be under the protection of your rightful Queen!"

The effect of the speech was almost instantaneous. In a matter of minutes, groups of armed and violent inhabitants of Omega began pouring into the plaza in front of the Afterlife, some coming to forcefully drag Nyreen Kandros out of her HQ and tear her to pieces, others arriving to defend their turian leader. "My god… you pitted civilians against each other?" Shepard gasped, watching the fighting break out down in the plaza. "That's crazy… brilliant, but crazy."

"It's exactly the kind of distraction that we need," Aria shrugged. "At least you did not use the word 'innocents'. It's not like those down there killing each other are helpless old people or young children, they are violent scum who chose to come here and kill whoever gets in their way. The noncombatants are all hiding in their apartments, if they are smart enough." _Well… I guess she does have a point there,_ Morgan conceded, after a brief thought. "But knowing Nyreen, this loss of life will anger her greatly. She will lose her head, Shepard, she will want to get back at me for this… any moment now, Nyreen Kandros will charge out of the Afterlife, surrounded by dozens of her Talons, trying to fight her way to the comm center from which the message was delivered."

"I'm ready," Shepard stated, resuming the scanning of the entrance of the Afterlife through the scope of her Widow.

"So are we," the two commandos spoke as one behind them, both huntresses carrying identical assault rifles.

"And there she comes, as predicted," Aria chuckled, watching Nyreen and her group of followers practically flying out of the Afterlife, the turian woman seething in rage as she and the Talons swiftly carved their way through the thick fighting down in the plaza. The face of one of the Talon lieutenants briefly appeared in Shepard's scope, the turian collapsing with a bullet embedded in his skull moments later.

Five if not more had fallen from Shepard's Widow and the precision fire of the commando assault rifles, when Nyreen's rage clouded mind realized what was happening. "Fall back! Fall back!" she shouted, trying to get her people to hastily return to the Afterlife, but the crowds of the fighting civilians had cut them off already, and now they were trapped within a sea of bodies, slaughtering each other in the square.

This momentary hesitation was the sign for Aria to spring into the action. Glowing with biotics, she launched herself from the balcony, landing in the middle of the retreating Talons, sending them flying and scattered with a massive biotic explosion. The commandos immediately leapt after Aria to provide cover on the ground, while Shepard's sniper rifle moved furiously as she quickly picked off the stunned Talons one by one.

Nyreen, much to her credit, was up on her feet almost instantly, launching her own considerable biotics against Aria, the two of them involved in a deadly dance on the plaza, the others wisely giving the two combatants some room, not wanting to get blasted by the incidental damage, and also realizing that the fate of Omega would be solved in this duel.

As the two continued to test each other's biotic barriers, in a way that made Shepard feel as if Aria was still in full control, playing like a cat with a mouse, Morgan quickly located a ladder at the side of the apartment building and climbed down to join the others on the plaza, standing a little in front of the two asari commandos, watching Aria and Nyreen do battle.

"Don't be a fool, Nyreen," Aria hissed, her barriers shrugging off another incineration blast from the turian's omni-tool. "Stop this nonsense, and I will even let you walk away!"

"I can't let you do that, Aria," Nyreen snapped back. "Not after the way you betrayed me and my people... I would rather die! Walking away now would strip me of the last vestiges of my honor. After you took everything else from me... it is all I have left!"

"Do as she says, Nyreen," Shepard also chose to step up, having switched her Widow for the Carnifex pistol. "We don't want to kill you."

"But you wanted to kill my people, and the civilians? How could you, Shepard?" Nyreen gave her an accusing sidelong glance. "You broke your word, you said you would take Aria away from Omega, I trusted you, a Council Spectre!"

"Surely you had to know that Aria would never abandon Omega," Shepard shrugged. "I couldn't force her to come with me, if she didn't agree to it." _And I refuse to feel guilty about shooting these gangs or watching them kill each other. The Butcher of Aratoht has way too many real regrets to find room for something as small as this to agonize over and over again,_ Morgan told herself, trying to steel herself for what was about to come, Nyreen's refusal to surrender leaving only one possible outcome.

"You abandoned your people once already, Aria. Then you incited them and pitted them against each other just to get to me," Nyreen spoke accusingly, addressing Aria. "Do they deserve such treatment after everything they have suffered? Will you lead and protect them in earnest this time around, or will you just exploit them for selfish gain once more?"

"I did not want to do this, Nyreen. I did not enjoy it, and if you had only stepped down and given me back my rightful place upon my arrival, none of this would have happened," Aria replied harshly. "And yes, in response to your question... I agree with you. After suffering at the hands of Cerberus, the people of Omega deserve better, and I will ensure that they are treated better."

"Promise it, in front of everyone here," the turian demanded angrily.

"Oh, for the love of..." Aria sighed, rolling her eyes. "Fine, if it pleases you. I promise to do better by the people of Omega and to do my best to keep them safe... satisfied?" she snarled, looking irritated from how the people around the plaza began to chant her name, cheering and rejoicing.

"Spirits, then my actions have not been for naught... and I have retained my honor..." Nyreen Kandros spoke quietly, before in one smooth motion drawing her twin pistols and aiming one each at Shepard and Aria, about to unleash a shot. The return fire came swift and deadly, Aria, Shepard and the asari commandos all opening fire at once. With a soft moan, Nyreen collapsed in a heap, Aria the first at her side, dropping down on her knees next to the turian. "Do not... forget... the promise..." Nyreen wheezed one last time before life left her bullet riddled body.

"What the fuck did she do that for?" Morgan asked, scratching her head, watching Aria gather the turian's body in her arms and beginning to carry it towards the Afterlife, crowds respectfully parting in her way.

"She had to," Aria replied, her voice strained from carrying the heavily armored turian. "She knew that she could not kill us, and her honor did not allow her to walk away. So... she coaxed what she wanted from me, something that allowed her to die while feeling that she had succeeded... don't ask, these turians are fucked up that way."

"Will you keep that promise?" Morgan asked, desperately hoping that Aria's words had not been just a part of the game to her.

"Yes, I will," Aria said, the commandos now taking the turian's body from her as they entered the empty Afterlife, respectfully laying Nyreen down on one of the couches. "She meant well, in her confused, foolish way. But it had to end this way, neither of us could leave the Omega, and we could not coexist here without coming to blows. Her death, while regrettable, was also inevitable."

"What happens now?" Morgan asked, as together they walked across the empty dance floor, nobody having used it for its intended purpose ever since the Cerberus invasion.

"Just like the rest of the galaxy, we begin to rebuild here," Aria said simply. "And I will message Tevos to send another group of engineers to fix the relays. So, if you don't want to spend six months together with four attractive asari commandos traveling back to Council space, you will still be stuck here for a month and a half waiting for the relay to be repaired."

"That's... almost tolerable," Morgan managed to reply calmly, despite still feeling a great deal of frustration about the entire matter. "I'm still pissed off about being separated from my daughter at a time like this."

"It was not my intention to do that. Oh, and Shepard..." Aria spoke, a little quietly now. "I saw that... look in your eyes, a few times. You were thinking whether Nyreen would have made a better leader for Omega than I do. Admit it."

"Yes... the thought did cross my mind," Morgan nodded. "That's why I'm hoping that you will do as you promised to Nyreen and everyone in that plaza."

"I have plans, Shepard. I think that you, and Nyreen, will not remain disappointed with what I have in mind for Omega," Aria spoke, her voice sultry and mysterious. "But still, Shepard..." the asari said, approaching Morgan, idly running her palm across the human's cheek, turning her head to face Aria. "I wanted to thank you for trusting me. I appreciate it... a great deal."

And then Morgan suddenly found herself being fiercely pulled towards the asari, their lips locking, Aria holding her tightly, Morgan freezing from the shock and sudden delight running through her frame, making her brain briefly shut down from the sensory overload. When she regained the control of her senses, she was both shocked and surprised to realize that they were still locked in an embrace, finding herself furiously kissing Aria back. The rational part of her brain attempted to issue orders to disengage from this most enjoyable contact, but before she could act on these orders, Aria had already released her, facing Morgan with a wicked grin. "Shepard, if you want to take it any further than this, then you'll have to get permission from Liara first," she added teasingly, stepping away, laughing at the frustration evident in Shepard's face.

"You... can be a complete and utter bitch at times, Aria..." Morgan managed, taking a deep breath to clear her head. _Gods, I hate it when she messes with me like that... or do I, really? I should have better control to resist her wicked games... but she's good, she is really good at this. _

"Thank you," Aria simply grinned at her. "Now, if you're done swooning at me... there's a lot of work ahead of us. Considering you're stuck here anyway... you might as well help me here, yes?"

* * *

Three days later, Shepard was growing increasingly frustrated. She was already missing Liara and Lita so horribly that the mere thought of them was almost physically painful. _How am I supposed to endure this for over a month I truly have no idea._

There was a lot of work to do to rebuild and restore order to Omega, starting with bringing Aria's base of operations, the Afterlife nightclub, back into order. But immersing herself in work this time did not provide an escape the same way it did back on Thessia. For one, Aria was always around, with her loose tongue and wandering hands, making Morgan extremely frustrated and longing for some kind of release, and the one she desperately craved for was denied to her with Liara's painful absence.

On the morning of her fourth day on Omega, Morgan was seriously considering staying in the small apartment Aria had given her for use, pondering about knocking herself out with the meager supply of the booze on hand. She wasn't entirely confident that she would be able to withhold herself from either punching or kissing Aria if the Pirate Queen 'accidentally' brushed against her one more time.

However, while she was still stuck in her busy pondering, suddenly there was a knock on the doors to her apartment. After a moment's pause, knowing that it could be nobody else but Aria, Shepard sighed and walked up to the doors, opening them and letting the Queen of Omega in. "You look terrible, even for a human," Aria remarked, noticing her frustrated, unkempt state.

"I feel terrible," Morgan confessed, even if she knew not to expect compassion from Aria T'Loak.

"Ah, cheer up, Shepard," Aria smiled broadly. "The engineers that Tevos sent arrived an hour ago, and they will begin their work on the relay immediately."

"Oh, good," Morgan remarked, without any great deal of enthusiasm, knowing that it would still be over a month before she could head home to Liara and Lita.

"I also asked them to bring something for you Shepard, just to make you little less gloomy," the Pirate Queen continued to smile.

"Huh? A crate of whiskey or something?" Shepard asked, still too depressed to even muster some curiosity. "That's not going to make me happy for too long."

"Just step out with me in the corridor, and you'll find out for yourself," Aria sighed, grabbing Morgan by the hand and pulling her along, over the doorstep and out into the hallway. "There, my gift to you," the Pirate Queen said, turning Morgan around, making her stare all the way down to the elevator.

"...oh my god..." Morgan breathed out, tears immediately starting to flow down her cheeks as she took in the view before her. At the end of the corridor, next to three packed suitcases, she could make out the slender figure of a beautiful asari maiden, gently holding a toddler in her hands. "Liara... LIARA!" she shouted, rushing down the hallway like a wind, smothering her bondmate in her embrace, showering Liara with heated, loving kisses.

"You're welcome, my friend," Aria T'Loak spoke with a bittersweet smile on her face, as she watched Shepard and Liara embracing. The look on her face almost became slightly envious as she watched Morgan gently cradling her daughter. But before Shepard could turn around to thank her, the Queen of Omega spun around on her heels, walking away, before she herself became lost to her raging emotions.


	3. The Councilor's Plight

_A/N: Time for a little time skip, roughly two years since the last chapter. So, the events now take place roughly three and a half years after the Reaper War. _

_I became pretty damn envious of Shepard while proofreading this chapter. Not only does she have an amazing bondmate, a beautiful baby, kickass father-in-law, but she also has a pretty cool boss. Certainly thousand times better than the slave driving bastard I have to face at my work. :D _

**Chapter 3 - The Councilor's Plight**

_Year 2190 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

"Come on, Lita, you can do it," Shepard urged her daughter, sitting in Liara's lap, making a pouty face and refusing to speak. "Aww, say hello to Aunt Tevos, why don't you? Do it, for daddy?" But the stubborn child simply knit her lips and steadfastly shook her head.

"Ah, it is quite alright, Shepard, no need to try and coax the little one," Tevos smiled gently, watching Lita's stubborn antics as Liara began to softly bounce her on the knee, the little asari immediately brightening up and cheering at that. "She is such a lovely child, you two must be very proud parents."

"Yes, we are," Morgan smiled, looking at Liara cooing at their daughter, her heart swelling from fondness at the sight. "It's just a little odd for me, I can't get used to the fact that Lita is a little over two years of age and she still doesn't speak properly, and still can't take more than a few steps without toppling over."

"I cannot convince her that it is perfectly normal for an asari child of this age," Liara smiled, giving Morgan a mildly exasperated look.

"Well, then let me add my voice behind Liara's as well, Shepard, there is nothing to worry about Lita, she looks to be a perfectly healthy and beautiful baby," Tevos added.

"Yeah... it's great that Dr. Lorisia has opened her private practice nearby as well, so we can take Lita in for regular checkups," Morgan said, knowing that these visits to the doctor were actually more for Liara's sake than Lita's. Her bondmate still experienced rushes of guilt and the occasional panic attack, frightened that she had done something bad to their baby, even if all the evidence argued that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Lita, Liara still required constant reassurances.

"It is good to see you two finally settling in," Tevos nodded after a moment of silence, while one of the servants delivered a steaming pot of the fruity tea that Morgan had grown to love so much. "And this is such a lovely place," she added, looking down from the terrace they were sitting on, staring at the nearby lake, surrounding the city of Armali like a kind of a horseshoe. "It warms my heart to return to Thessia now, with so many cities already having risen from the rubble."

"Yes, give it two more years, and the evidence of the Reaper attack will be forever erased from the face of the planet," Morgan agreed happily, she and Liara having spent considerable time together with the local communities and the geth platforms, working hard to restore the once proud and beautiful city to its former glory.

"We can already walk through some of the districts of Armali without noticing any signs of the invasion," Liara said proudly, carefully pouring a cup of tea for herself, making sure that Lita did not shake her hand and splashed the hot liquid on herself. "And the estate is... just as I remember it before leaving for my archeological digs." Her face clouded for a moment, likely from the memory of her mother and the sad ending of Matriarch Benezia's life. "I was... humbled and happy beyond description, when all those who used to work for my mother at the estate before the Reapers invaded, chose to return and take up their old jobs. Well... all those who survived the horrors..." she added in a sad voice.

"And we are still waiting for one old acquaintance to rejoin us," Morgan said, watching the temporary gloominess on Liara's face quickly fading, the asari breaking into a smile again, nodding eagerly as she understood to whom Morgan had referred to. "An old confidante of Liara and her mother is on her way back to Thessia," Shepard explained, having faced Tevos' inquiring stare. The happy news had arrived a few months ago, the message from Shiala completely unexpected.

The former leader of Benezia's commandos had been stuck somewhere deep in the Traverse, surviving only by a miracle after escaping Feros and then crash landing on some inhospitable planet in Styx Theta. Liara had immediately offered to send a rescue team to retrieve her old friend and mentor, but Shiala had insisted that she will find her own way back to the asari space, and so now they simply had to wait for the experienced commando to return.

"What about you, Councilor?" Liara asked. "How are you coping, and how is Aria doing on Omega? I have not heard anything from Rila and Falere in a while, so I imagine they are with Aria again?"

From the way that Tevos' face clouded slightly, Morgan knew that Liara hadn't even needed to ask the question. If Rila and Falere were still on the Citadel, Tevos would not have made the trip to see them, she would have just spoken to them on the QEC as she usually did at least once every week. "Yes... they are on Omega, all three of them, and my heart aches for them badly," Tevos' hand trembled a little as she lifted her teacup.

The situation that Tevos and Aria found themselves in was not an easy one, and Morgan did not envy them, in fact, she often felt very much sorry for the older couple. She could not fault Aria for staying on Omega for now, there was much to do, and she was doing everything she could to build a foundation for her future together with Tevos. Aria was solidifying her hold on Omega, legalizing her considerable financial assets through various sources, purchasing shares in legitimate businesses throughout the Council space, and doing everything she could to give her criminal empire some credibility in the eyes of the general public.

Tevos, on her part, acting with great subtlety, did all she could to make sure that Aria received favorable press throughout the galactic news networks, and made sure the public opinion towards the Queen of Omega improved and the people throughout the Council space slowly began to think of Aria simply as a businesswoman, albeit a very ruthless and dangerous one.

But all these steps took a great amount of time and effort. For Tevos, visiting Omega was completely out of the question, and Aria did not dare to leave Omega for too long, still fearing that some of her detractors might take this chance to dethrone her, growing a little paranoid after seeing her rule seized once by Cerberus, then shortly after by the Talon mercenaries. Aria did manage to sneak in some quick Citadel visits now and then, but she could not stay for more than a few days. Rila and Falere spent most of the time with Aria on Omega now, meaning that Tevos felt particularly lonely on the Citadel, Shepard also swearing not to visit the place while the station remained in the Sol System. The councilor threw herself into her work, the only thing remaining to her, and when she began to suffer too badly, unable to bear it, then Aria took pity on her, dropping in for a few days and letting Rila and Falere remain with Tevos for a few weeks, or a month.

"Every day I remind myself that we simply need to remain patient, for ourselves and for the sake of the girls. The plans that Aria has set in motion will take decades to implement, and with our life spans it... should be easy to cope with it, and yet, suddenly it is not as easy," Tevos continued after a brief pause. "In the meantime... we have given each other permission to date other people, but... I do not see myself acting on it, and I know Aria has not done so either."

"It's a terrible situation, alright," Shepard nodded sympathetically. "To imagine myself and Liara in a similar circumstance... my heart aches from the mere thought of it."

"I apologize for bringing it up, it was thoughtless of me," Liara said, lowering her eyes. "You did not come here to be reminded of your predicament, Councilor."

"There is no need to apologize, you are also worried about your friends and wanted to know how they are doing," Tevos replied, managing a brave smile.

"Rila and Falere both write now and then," Liara said, smiling as well. "Aria's not really the type to bother with writing letters, but the girls also update us with what Daddy Aria is up to. It does seem that when we visit Omega next, it will be a very different place from what I remember."

"It's good to know that Aria is keeping her promises," Shepard nodded, turning back towards Tevos. "Perhaps there is some interesting gossip from within the Council Chambers that you can share with us? Something that one of your Spectres should be aware of?"

"You seem very well informed already, Shepard," Tevos smiled. "Still, there is a great deal to do every day, as I'm sure you can imagine. We have agreed to finally invite the krogan to the Council, despite some lingering concerns... but we are united in our opinion that the krogan might be more dangerous if they remain removed from the heart of galactic affairs."

"I can't help but to agree with that," Liara said, looking a little relieved. "Will Wrex be assuming the mantle of the councilor himself, as we thought he might?"

"No, he has chosen to remain on Tuchanka," Tevos replied, her answer surprising both Shepard and Liara. "He is sending someone from his clan to take up the position. Urdnot Ngagong, I believe the name was. When I asked Wrex about his credentials, the reply I received was along the lines of 'he's just one of my less retarded cousins'..."

"How are the krogan behaving, overall?" Morgan asked, still feeling a little worried about Tevos' mention of lingering concerns. "I understand that the situation on Tuchanka is more or less peaceful."

"Yes, the presence of Wrex and Bakara has stabilized the situation on Tuchanka, but I'm afraid they cannot be everywhere at once," Tevos sighed. "As you know, the krogan have demanded space for expansion, and the Council has decided to act upon your suggestion and offer the ravaged batarian system to them, worlds like Adek, Camala, Erszbat, rich with resources, their populations almost completely eradicated, well suited for re-colonization. We gave them these worlds on the condition that they stayed away from Khar'shan, since that Council hopes that the batarians might still rally their remaining survivors and rebuild their civilization, unlikely as it seems right now."

"Regardless of my opinion on batarians, I'm... not happy to hear about their fate," Morgan admitted with sadness, knowing full well that her own actions on Aratoht had contributed to the demise of their entire species.

"But the krogan are not honoring their promise to stay away from Khar'shan, I take it?" Liara asked, looking worried and a tiny bit annoyed.

"I'm afraid so, the more warlike clans who felt restricted under Urdnot rule on Tuchanka have moved to Kite's Nest and are now attempting to stir trouble there," Tevos sighed. "They have begun landing on Khar'shan and have started harassing the batarians, trying to drive the last survivors out of the system."

"That kind of pisses me off," Morgan spoke, irritation seeping into her voice. "I'll send a strongly worded message to Wrex to see if he can exert more influence on these clans."

"We will continue to monitor the situation," Tevos agreed with a nod. "I do not wish to see the salarians proven right on their dire warnings about the krogan. There are some elements within their government who already urge us to take action before it is too late."

"Oh, I can imagine a certain dalatrass better left not named," Shepard chuckled, earning a knowing smirk from Tevos. "You are doing the right thing by not taking the situation lightly, though."

"What about the other races?" Liara asked. "We heard from Palaven that the turians have finally invited the geth to come and help them rebuild their homeworld."

"Yes, and the speed at which the restoration efforts proceed has quadrupled since the arrival of the geth," Tevos sighed. "I can scarcely believe they blocked the decision for so long, there are some deeply rooted fundamentalists within the Hierarchy who claimed they would sooner die than see a geth set foot on Palaven. In the end, Councilor Sparatus himself asked several of our Spectres to resolve the situation. Blackmail disarmed the opponents within the government, while leaked footage from Thessia on extranet, showing the geth and asari working side by side, swayed the public opinion and increased pressure on the government to finally invite the geth to help them. Your friend Legion was very pleased, and personally traveled to Palaven, eager to meet your mutual friends."

"That's good to hear," Morgan smiled. "By the way, what have you decided to do with the geth? They were hoping to get invited on the Council as well?"

"I would have happily agreed with that, however, Councilor Valern came up with some ancient document from very early implementation of the Galactic Council which states that invitations to the Council can only be open to organic species," Tevos sighed. "I am trying to circumvent it somehow, coming up with a special advisory position on the Council for the geth, which would allow them a full vote on certain issues. The initial response to my proposal has been positive, so I remain hopeful."

Morgan and Liara exchanged looks, both nodding approvingly. "I really like that initiative, Councilor," Liara smiled.

"Yes... but of course, as soon as the volus heard of a special position created solely for the geth, they are demanding that at least the same courtesy be shown to them," Tevos sighed, rubbing her brow with her delicate hand. "Councilor Sparatus is very adamant about it too, throwing a lot of support behind the old turian allies."

"Perhaps it's not such an unreasonable request-" Shepard's words were interrupted by the rumbling baritone of Aethyta's voice speaking up behind them.

"Well, well, what do we have here," Morgan's father-in-law spoke in amused tones, plopping into one of the empty chairs at their table, another asari following her and taking the last empty seat at Aethyta's side. "Councilor Tevos herself... what a lovely surprise!"

"Matriarch Aethyta, a pleasure," Tevos nodded, bowing her head respectfully, then turning to the other asari. "And... Matriarch Lidanya? I thought that the Destiny Ascension was scheduled to depart today?"

"We had to reschedule our departure for another few days, Councilor," Lidanya grinned, subtly pushing her chair a little closer to Aethyta. "Close inspection of our inventory revealed that several crucial supplies were missing, so we will have to spend some time resupplying."

"Where 'resupplying' means being strapped to my bed, naked and moaning from the top of her lungs," Aethyta chuckled, giving Lidanya a fond stare.

"Father, please!" Liara admonished, putting her palms over Lita's ear folds.

"Ah, I won't let you turn your daughter into a prude like her mother is," Aethyta laughed. "Oh... did we interrupt anything important?" she then added innocently, giving Tevos an inquisitive stare.

"Merely an idle chatter," Tevos replied casually, unwilling to elaborate. "I believe I now understand why the Destiny Ascension spends so much time patrolling around Thessia..." she added with a smile.

"Oh, I was not aware of any emergencies requiring our attention elsewhere," Lidanya remarked idly, pouring tea for herself and Aethyta.

"I know that you would never take your responsibilities lightly, Matriarch," Tevos bowed her head reverently. "I am merely pleased to find you in good spirits."

Morgan smiled at this statement, understanding fully just what Tevos meant by it. After all the losses had been counted, Aethyta and Lidanya were amongst the six eldest and most influential matriarchs left on Thessia, Aethyta having secured large support and popularity amongst the masses because of her actions during the Reaper War. And while Tevos could be certain that Aethyta would not care one bit about her affair with Aria, same could not be said about Lidanya, who could sometimes be a little zealous and stuck in the old ways and traditions. To see her so relaxed and mellow due to Aethyta's 'influence' was obviously a good and encouraging sign for Tevos, meaning that Lidanya was less likely to meddle into her affairs.

"I bet Shepard is slowly starting to regret inviting me to live with them," Aethyta laughed throatily, before taking a mouthful of the tea and wincing, obviously wishing it had been something alcoholic instead. "Liddy isn't exactly being quiet, you know, and I'm sure they are both thinking that we are being simply an awful influence on the kid," she added, tickling Lita's chin, the baby giggling and grabbing Aethyta's hand, wrestling against her grandfather.

"Nonsense, you've been a lot of help, Father," Liara said quickly, Shepard nodding supportively next to her. "That said..." she turned towards Tevos with a smile. "As soon as the estate was repaired in its entirety, we moved our bedrooms to the opposite wing. Yes, yes, I do not care if you call me prudish because of that, Father," Liara quickly added, giving Aethyta an emphatic roll of the eyes.

"You two have nowhere enough sex, if you ask me," Aethyta grumbled, her eyes shining with laughter as she enjoyed yet another opportunity to embarrass Liara and Shepard in front of their guests.

"I don't think anyone is having enough sex if compared to the example you are setting, Father," Liara eventually managed a reply, whispering something to Lita just to distract the baby from whatever sordid things Aethyta was speaking.

"Besides, after the war, we no longer have to fear that every day might be our last," Morgan added, taking Liara's hand in hers, the asari's splayed fingers fitting around hers tightly. "We no longer feel the rush, the pressure to hurry and experience everything in a condensed period of time. We can take it easy, and enjoy our relationship slowly and without any stresses."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Liara agreed with a smile.

"Wise words, Shepard," Tevos also nodded.

"You're staying on Thessia for long, Councilor?" Lidanya asked. "I find it a little strange that nobody was informed of your arrival."

"I have scheduled several meetings in two days time," the Councilor replied. "But I decided to arrive a few days early. Call it a vacation of sorts, if you will." Matriarch Lidanya gave a slow nod to that, looking as if she did not truly believe Tevos' explanation. "Very well... there were several issues I wished to discuss with Spectre Shepard," Tevos eventually caved in before Lidanya's scrutinizing gaze. "Shepard... if I may steal you for a brief while?" Morgan was a little taken aback when Tevos addressed her with the question, rising from the table, moving to follow the councilor.

"I thought this was just a friendly visit," Shepard remarked, following Tevos to the other end of the terrace. "I honestly wasn't expecting that you'd want to discuss some Spectre business..."

"Please Shepard, do not be alarmed," Tevos gave her a brief, comforting smile, sensing that Morgan sounded a little displeased. "Is there some place we could talk in private?"

Morgan thought for a while, before leading Tevos away from the terrace, down the steps of an ancient stone hewn stairway towards a small gate. "Of course, Councilor," she said, opening the gate and letting Tevos pass through. "This path leads down to the very lakeside. The walk is quite lovely."

"That sounds just perfect, Shepard, thank you," Tevos nodded as they began to walk down the meandering path, thick purple bushes and copses of trees providing them comfortable shade, now and then the pale orange glow of the nearby lake could be seen through the gap in the trees.

"So, what did you want to talk with me about, Councilor?" Shepard prodded, when Tevos seemed content to simply walk amongst the nature of her homeworld, taking in as many sights as she could. _She's been the prisoner of that artificial structure of the Citadel for so long... she has probably been missing this so very badly,_ Shepard realized with a surge of sympathy for Tevos.

"Actually, I have nothing to say to you, Shepard," Tevos said mysteriously, once again managing to confuse Morgan. "I simply needed an excuse to leave the table, and I apologize for using you in such manner. I enjoyed the company, especially that of Liara and Lita, but I was not prepared to meet Lidanya here."

"Do you have a reason to fear her or something?" Morgan asked.

"Not fear, not as such," Tevos smiled. "But informal meetings like these are dangerous. Aethyta is aware of my relationship with Aria, Lidanya is the only one amongst us who does not know. Letting a thoughtless word slip is so very easy, Shepard... I dare not to risk our future this way."

"I understand. I'm really sorry that you have to deal with such a situation at all. I mean... it should be easy when two people just want to be together, right? And yet... quite often it's not easy at all."

"Very true," Tevos nodded, as they reached the end of the path, a small clearing at the waterside. Several simple wooden benches stood in the clearing and the councilor sat down on one of them, urging Shepard to sit down next to her. "I believe I know how I will spend my day off tomorrow," Tevos said, smiling broadly as she looked at the nature surrounding them, particularly towards the mountain range in the background, overlooking the lake. "Has Liara showed you the glorious walks to the top of Mount Malinio?" she asked, turning to Shepard.

"You mean that highest peak over there?" Morgan turned to point to their left, the tree covered mountain range that looked gorgeous and inviting, with just a little flair of danger. "No... we really haven't had the time to explore it yet, but I have always been curious about that."

"I know those walks from my youth, my family often spent their vacations in the resorts of Armali. I have always wanted to return here and see how things have changed in the past two centuries. Yes... I believe, tomorrow I will take a shuttle flight to the bottom of the mountain and do some serious walking," Tevos nodded to herself enthusiastically. "Shepard... perhaps you and Liara would like to join me? I would love the company. That is, if you have someone to leave Lita with, of course."

"Matriarch Lidanya is returning to the Destiny Ascension later this evening, so I think Aethyta will be only too happy to have something to do tomorrow," Shepard smiled. "I would absolutely love to go hiking, and I think Liara would jump at the opportunity as well. Besides... as a Spectre, it is my duty to protect my Councilor, isn't it?" she added, chuckling. "Can't have you walking those forests all alone and unprotected, you know!"

"Ah, Shepard, ever the protector," Tevos spoke softly. "You know... once I return back to the Citadel, the engineers together with the geth will begin the last phase of our ambitious project to return Citadel to the Serpent Nebula. If everything goes well... and we have no reason to fear that it won't, the Citadel will be back in its original place within a year and a half."

"That's excellent news," Shepard nodded happily. "And it also means I will finally be able to return to work! It'll be close to perfect timing, Lita will be almost five and won't need as much care and attention, and I'll probably be bursting with energy and rearing to get back into action..."

"Yes, I must say... I look forward to see you back on the Citadel, Shepard. I miss your presence, as I miss Liara and... well, I do not have to say what I miss the most, do I..."

"Cheer up, Councilor... you won't have to suffer for too long, I'm sure," Shepard tried encouragingly, awkwardly patting Tevos on the knee. "Besides, remember of our plans for tomorrow, we'll have great time hiking, yes?"

"Of course we will, Shepard." Tevos seemed to hesitate for a moment then. "I... have another... question to ask of you, my friend." Morgan did not reply, only smiled at Tevos to encourage her. "I would like to join my consciousness with yours, Shepard."

Shepard blinked, feeling her jaw hit the ground from surprise, nervously turning to face Councilor Tevos with an incredulous stare. "Err... I'm flattered, but I can't just meld with you, what would Liara-"

Much to Morgan's confusion, Tevos began to laugh softly. "I should have phrased that better, I sometimes forget that I am speaking with a non-asari, when talking with you, Shepard. I mean, you have even mastered the art of wearing asari robes with considerable grace and dignity," she chuckled. "I assure you that my proposal concerns nothing of sexual nature, Shepard. I merely miss the comfort of feeling another mind linked to mine, even if it is to simply share some of my memories."

_Well... I don't think Liara would really begrudge me of doing something like that,_ Morgan mused, eventually nodding her consent. She felt Tevos brush softly against her side, lowering her head on Morgan's shoulder, while Shepard leaned a little closer in turn, her cheek brushing against the top of the councilor's crest. For a brief while, they just sat like that, growing comfortable and relaxed, until finally Morgan began to sense that familiar tug around the edge of her consciousness, willing herself to drop her barriers and inviting the welcomed intruder.

_Random images swirled before her eyes, before settling on a beautiful, young asari, perhaps only just entering her matron years, the distinctive facial markings revealing her as Tevos T'Naori perhaps two or three centuries ago. She was standing on a balcony, looking at a sprawling metropolis below her, the skyline reminding Morgan of Nos Astra and Ilium. Time and time again, she peered back into the apartment behind her, another asari pacing around the room restlessly there, talking with someone, or more like shouting obscenities through the link on her omni-tool. _

_Eventually, the other asari ended her call, slowly stepping out on the balcony to join Tevos, revealing a younger, radiant, beautiful and also incredibly irritated Aria T'Loak. "It didn't go well," Tevos spoke quietly, her eyes downcast, voice crestfallen. "Your family will not offer us protection." _

_"No, they will not," Aria snapped, throwing a biotic punch against the surface of a nearby table, smashing it to pieces as Tevos recoiled, frightened. "They took the bribe your clan offered." _

_"We can still make this work... we could run away, hide somewhere where they would never find us..." Tevos rambled hastily, looking as if she was struggling not to break into tears. _

_"They'll just send commandos after us, one squad after another, until they find us and bring us home, you know that," Aria ground out the words. _

_"So... this is it?" a stray tear finally escaped the corner of Tevos' eye. "You're abandoning me as well?" _

_"Do you think this is what I want?" Aria shouted angrily, walking up to her lover. "I want nothing else but to run away with you! But I would be forced to kill everyone they send after us, loyal servants, commandos of our own houses, our own sisters... do you wish to see their blood coating my hands, just so we can both be together? How long would we be able to live with ourselves and what we have done?" _

_Tevos was shaking with sobs by now. "You... you are right, Aria..." she whispered, as her lover moved to embrace her, all anger having faded from her face. "So I... guess this is it then... isn't it?"_

_"For now, my love," Aria replied, holding Tevos' quaking form. "You must follow the path that has been set before you, and I must carve my own way into the stars, away from Thessia, the matriarchs and the people who betrayed us. If we both follow what fates have set before us, perhaps we will once have so much power and influence in our hands that we will be able to make our own rules and the galaxy will bend to our will. And then, nothing will stand between us." _

_"Do you truly believe so?" _

_"Yes. Yes, I do," Aria whispered. "But we have one more night left to us. And if after that I cannot keep you... then I have decided that I wish to keep a part of you with me forever." _

_"Do you mean... surely you can't suggest..." Tevos stammered, pressing closer to Aria, her entire being begging to be claimed by her lover. _

_"Yes, if I can't have you... then I will at least have your child," Aria spoke fiercely, grabbing the lapels of Tevos' robe and with fierce possessiveness ripping it to shreds, gathering Tevos' bare body in her arms as her lover began kissing her passionately, before she was easily lifted from the ground by Aria's superior strength and carried back into the apartment. _

The images faded shortly afterwards, Morgan still feeling pleasantly warm from witnessing the deeply intimate scene between Tevos and Aria, feeling the councilor's slight amusement through the meld as she undoubtedly sensed Shepard's part embarrassment, part arousal, gently disentangling her consciousness from Morgan's.

"I have never given birth to a child of my own, I might have mentioned this before," the asari spoke softly, once they had both recovered from the emotional experience. "Watching Liara holding your child, a maiden barely over hundred years, dangerously underage to even consider giving birth... I cannot deny, it fills me with envy, and with almost painful need to experience the joys of motherhood myself. I think that is also why I find Aria's absence so frustrating..."

"I think I understand, Councilor," Morgan said gently, feeling another surge of sympathy coursing through her. "But you have to believe that things will work out between you and Aria, I'm sure they will. And you will never be alone, even when Aria can't be with you. The girls love you, and Liara and I call you a friend, and we will always be there for you whenever you need us."

"Thank you," Tevos smiled serenely. "But you have to promise me something. After what we have shared, I can no longer allow you to address me by using my title, Morgan."

"...of course, Tevos," Shepard smiled, holding out her hand and the asari accepted it, the two of them slowly beginning their walk back towards the T'Soni Estate.


	4. Days Of Thessian Lives

_A/N: And we take another little time skip of a year and a half, bringing the story to a point five years after the Reaper War. We're going to spend the next ten to dozen chapters at this point in time. _

_Also, caution for a bit of smuttiness at the beginning of the chapter. _

**Chapter 4 - Days Of Thessian Lives**

_Year 2191 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

_'Morgan... I... I can't...' _

Morgan smiled inwardly, partly blinded by the intense pleasure spiking back through the meld. _'I know you can, babe, and you will...' _She was pinning Liara down heavily on the bed, keeping even her hips immobile to prevent the asari from grinding back against her thrusting fingers and reaching that sacred edge sooner than Morgan intended to allow her.

_'I... oh goddess, I...' _Liara's thoughts were so incoherent at this point that she began to fail making exact meanings and concepts through their bond, everything flooding over jumbled together in a tangle of emotions.

_''Patience, love... I know you are close, I can feel it... it will be over soon...' _in truth, Morgan did not have quite as much control as she projected back through the meld, Liara's pure, undiluted pleasure reflected through their link making it difficult for Shepard to keep her strokes slow and deliberate, delivering intense pleasure, but at the same time slightly frustratingly not being quite firm and fast enough to send Liara and consequently herself spinning together into that comforting black void encompassing them once they lost themselves in their passions.

While Morgan had intended to keep Liara in this pleasurable limbo for at least a few more minutes, just because it always led to a spectacular culmination for them both, at some point she became aware of some annoying outside noise intruding into their linked consciousness. _'Damnation,'_ she swore through the bond as she immediately recognized the noises for Lita's crying in the adjacent room. Immediately, the emotions flooding forth from Liara changed their nature, the intense pleasure now diluted by worry and almost painful need to be satisfied as quickly as possible.

_'Fine, consider this a lucky escape, my love,'_ Morgan finally caved in, changing the way in which her fingers travelled through Liara's slick strength, abandoning her delightfully and deliberately frustrating method and beginning to firmly touch all the spots which she knew would push Liara over the edge very quickly. It only took a few firm strokes, and Liara literally caught fire and Morgan freed the asari's hips from her tight grasp, feeling Liara grinding against her furiously as she responded in turn, both of them riding out the peak of their pleasure while ignoring the ominous creaking of the bed.

Liara only spent half a minute if not less resting in her arms, before disentangling from Morgan's embrace, jumping out of the bed, picking up her robe and bolting out of the room to rush and check up on Lita, leaving Shepard lying on the bed alone, a little frustrated as her hips still twitched lightly from the powerful aftershocks. It took Liara close to quarter of an hour to calm Lita down and get her back to sleep, the asari walking back into their bedroom, yawning and looking tired as she slipped under the covers and back into Morgan's embrace.

"Nothing serious?" Morgan asked, as they resumed their delightful ritual of after-sex cuddling.

"No, she was just spooked by a bad dream," Liara replied, reaching up to kiss the tip of Morgan's nose. "Or perhaps prematurely awakened by, uh, some noise."

"Well, that's your fault then, you were making all the noise," Shepard chuckled, earning a playful glare from her bondmate.

"That is hardly fair, Morgan," Liara stated accusingly, but the smile on her lips betrayed her annoyance as false.

"It is a little disconcerting of not being able to... ease out of the Joining as we usually do it," Morgan admitted a while later.

"Yes, but thankfully the interruptions are growing less frequent," Liara replied. "You know, I think I would rather fight a Reaper than train our daughter to accept the bottle."

"No kidding," Morgan sighed, remembering the painful period they had gone through a few months ago. Lita had been a whiny and wailing bundle of irritation and annoyance, and after several unsuccessful weeks, her mood had transferred to Liara, making her bondmate impatient, snappish and generally unhappy. Those had been frustrating times, and the entire household had let out a collective sigh of relief when Lita finally accepted her cruel fate.

"She's growing up quick, though," Shepard remarked a while later, Liara comfortable with the silence, nuzzling her head against Morgan's chest. "Before we know it she'll be off to the school, you'll see."

"Oh, we still have a good few years, before that happens. Asari children generally start school between age of eight to twelve, depending on their biotic potential and various aptitude tests. I think it means closer to twelve for Lita," Liara said with a hint of bitterness, quickly continuing before Morgan could admonish her for being morbid. "I will probably try to push her too hard during homeschooling, so you will need to stop me when I get carried away."

"That's a promise," Morgan whispered, bending lower to plant a soft kiss atop of Liara's crests. "When will you finally let go, love?"

"When our daughter has grown up and happily settled into her life. When I will know that I have not ruined her life because I was stupid, impatient and selfishly wanted this baby so very much," Liara answered earnestly.

Morgan responded by wrapping her arms tighter around Liara, knowing that there was not much she could do to help her bondmate other just showing her support, love and acceptance, making sure Liara knew that neither she nor anyone else blamed her bondmate for that rash decision. It was foolish of Liara to torment herself so much, considering that Lita was in almost every way a completely normal baby, despite all odds, and yet still Liara simply could not let go of her guilt, even if it began to decrease slightly as Lita grew older.

"Everything will be alright, you'll see," Morgan whispered, settling for sweet nothings and platitudes instead, relying on the contact of their bodies to eventually help Liara to relax and the approach never failed her, the asari drawing comfort simply from Morgan's presence and her rapid breathing eventually slowed, both of them beginning to slip back towards the land of dreams. "Morning light will be here in a few hours, my love," Shepard spoke softly, planting another kiss on Liara's brow as the asari shifted slightly, seeking a more comfortable position for sleeping, her eyes closed as she began to snooze, Morgan quickly following her example, aware that they had an important day ahead of them tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, when Liara and Shepard descended downstairs for breakfast, Morgan carrying a still yawning Lita in her arms, they came across Aethyta and Shiala already present at the table outside on the porch where they always chose to have their morning meals, weather permitted. Morgan's grumbling stomach made an excited somersault when she noticed that Aethyta was busy devouring a batch of pancakes, one of human inventions that she had happily admitted to not being idiotic. As they sat down at the table, Morgan only hoped that the cook had made enough for them all, Aethyta's appetite was always impressive, especially if she had shared her bedchambers with someone the night before.

Shiala had been sitting on the floor of the terrace at Aethyta's feet, meditating in silence, but the attractive green skinned asari now rose to bow to Liara and Shepard, after Liara's request moving to sit at the table with them. Morgan might not have known Shiala very well from their brief past meetings and despite receiving the Prothean Cipher from her during a meld, but she was clearly strongly devoted and loyal to Liara, just as she had been to her mother. During her stay on Feros, and then trying to survive in the middle of the Reaper invasion, Shiala's biotic powers had become truly impressive, likely rivaling Liara's, and she was now tasked with rebuilding the commando forces of the Shepard-T'Soni household, teaching several promising maidens her combat techniques, preparing them for their duties of honor guards during different ceremonies, and accompanying Liara as armed escort every time Liara would head off-world.

"Oh, good... there is more," Shepard remarked happily, noticing the cook bringing in another plate crammed with pancakes, beginning to search through the jars of jams and preserves on the table. As she was still slowly getting familiar with the asari cuisine and trying to remember what she liked and disliked, the cook had thoughtfully placed small labels on every jar, also writing down the various degrees of sweetness for everything. _Hey, it's not my fault that the asari have such sweet teeth, and even what they refer to as sour is still a bit too sweet for my tastes, _she chuckled inwardly, seeking out the jar which contained something slightly resembling blueberry jam.

"So dad, did you have the time to check up with the news already?" Liara asked, in turn choosing the sweetest of the preserves, making Morgan wince from the very thought that someone might be eating something like that. Even worse, it was made from a citrus-like fruit that visually closely resembled lime, but tasted the complete opposite, something that Morgan had discovered the hard way, much to her chagrin.

"Yes, as of today, the Citadel has returned back to its proper place, and everything finally is well and good in the galaxy," Aethyta replied with a sarcastic chuckle. "I understand that inappropriately massive celebrations are planned to celebrate this joyous event... how many invitations have you received thus far?"

"Oh... about thirty," Morgan shrugged, giving a look to Liara before checking her omni-tool. "Right, thirty-four. Of course, we will have to go to the Citadel... we just plan to conveniently miss the grand celebrations by a few days..."

"I agree and approve of Morgan's lack of interest in these frivolities," Liara nodded fervently.

"But you're going with her, yes?" Aethyta asked, receiving a quick nod from her daughter. "Do you plan to take Lita with you?"

"That was the plan, yes... we'll probably be gone for a week or so, I couldn't ask you to-" Liara's words were quickly interrupted by her father.

"Bah, you should leave her with me," Aethyta said impatiently. "You're still fussing over her way too much. It's time she learned to cope with her mommy not always running when she lets loose with the waterworks."

"I... perhaps you are right, but for the whole week?" Liara looked uncertain. "It's true that she's always happy to have you look after her, but..."

"Don't be silly, the Citadel is only a relay jump away, in case we encounter some difficulties... which we won't, right, kiddo?" Aethyta looked at her granddaughter, Lita letting out a happy gurgle of agreement, too busy sculpting a pyramid from the mashed veggies on her plate. Words 'Nana' and 'fun' were all that they succeeded in getting out of the littlest asari, in the end Liara also looking at peace with the decision to leave Lita in Aethyta's care.

"If there's anything you want us to bring back from the Citadel, you just name it... or better, just make a list," Shepard smiled at her father-in-law.

"Way ahead of you, Shepard," Aethyta winked. "Here's a list of the things I need," she lazily threw a datapad in Morgan's direction.

"Wait a minute..." Morgan gasped, having studied the list for a while. "Most of these items are from Morlan's Adult Emporium! We're not going there!"

"Really? I thought we wanted to pick out a new-... oh," Liara suddenly stopped, blushing furiously. "I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"

Aethyta was laughing so hard, she nearly fell off her chair. Even Shiala, ever composed and outwardly emotionless due to her training and meditation, could not entirely stop a smile from appearing on her lips. "You were saying, Shepard?" Aethyta gave her a lecherous grin.

Morgan merely sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine, we'll pick up the stuff you want," she eventually acceded. _Hmm, I should give another look to that list, too, maybe there's something Liara and I should get for ourselves, too. Say what you want about Aethyta, but you can't argue with nine centuries of experience in the bedroom... _

"Thanks, you really are a dear, Shepard," Aethyta chuckled. "Liddy will be ever so thankful as well, we don't want things becoming stale, now do we?" While Shepard and Liara continued their embarrassed blushing, the Matriarch quickly continued. "However, I still think that you two should take Shiala with you when you leave for the Citadel," she said, surprising Shepard slightly.

"Really? Not to slight Shiala, but Liara and I don't exactly require protection," she shrugged.

"Don't be so sure, Shepard. There are fringe elements amongst almost every species that harbor a grudge against you," Aethyta shook her head. "There are some groups of quarians who hate you even if you did save them from the geth, supporters of some long dead admirals. Some salarians hate you over the genophage issue. Plenty of humans hate you for a multitude of reasons, all of them idiotic. You may be the Savior of the Galaxy, but there are plenty of crazies out there who want you dead. And I won't have my daughter's mate and the father of my grandchild be shot because she thought she was immune to sniper rifles and heavy explosives."

"Father is right, Morgan," Liara nodded with sudden conviction. "Shiala, would you accompany us, please?" she asked, looking at her commando friend.

"Of course, it will be my pleasure, Mistress Liara," Shiala smiled politely. "In fact, I had been hoping for the opportunity. You will not even sense my presence, I will follow you at a distance and watch the crowds for any danger." Morgan wondered a little at this, because considering Shiala's strange green skin complexion after her harrowing experiences with the Thorian, at least on Thessia she stuck out in a crowd and as such was unsuited for any stealth mission, earning too many stares cast in her direction. _Then again, the Citadel being so multicultural, all kinds of species coming and going, maybe she can remain inconspicuous. And if anyone starts bothering her with personal questions... well, we already saw what happened to those two drunken maidens who decided to make fun of Shiala..._

"Fine, fine, I'm convinced too," Morgan finally said, raising her hands in a placating gesture. "It will be good to have Shiala along, I agree." _Maybe we can send her into Morlan's Emporium to make those purchase for us... yeah, that'll work! Besides, it'd be fun to see Morlan being flung around his 'famous shop' if he decides to make any smartass comments!_

"There will be so much to do on the Citadel, I hope that we can manage to fit everything within a week," Liara said, looking eager about the prospect of their upcoming trip.

"You have never actually talked about your plans," Aethyta remarked. "Well, other than the visit to a sex shop."

"Oh, I'm supposed to have my first meeting with my publisher," Liara replied, a little nervously. "I sent them the first draft of my books about the research on Protheans, and they have suggested some changes that I am not really comfortable with."

"Bah, what can they know," Morgan huffed. "Who is this publisher of yours, anyway?"

"Some volus from Irune Academic Publishing," Liara shrugged. "They are respectable and influential, Morgan, so I should at least listen to their concerns."

"Well, what do they want you to change?" Shepard asked.

"That volus wrote that he wants me to... and I quote literally 'to sex things up a bit'," Liara sighed. "I mean... how do I sex up research on Protheans?"

"Seems like a pretty tall order for anyone who has actually met or spoken with old Prothy," Morgan laughed. "Sorry, babe... I'm not sure what to advise you on this one. Why do you even need a publisher? You're not doing this for the credits, so just put it up on the extranet and be done with it!"

"Morgan... surely you realize that it would go completely unnoticed and quickly buried under a mass of useless information that is posted on the extranet every minute," Liara gave her an exasperated stare. "A publisher can get my works the exposure I want, they can make sure that my books are read on Earth, Irune, Palaven, Sur'Kesh, everywhere in the galaxy. I think that what I have to say is important enough and deserves to be read by as many as possible."

"Can't argue with that," Shepard shrugged. "Now all you have to do is figure out how to make Protheans sexy."

"Yes..." Liara sighed again. "Part of me resents to even be considering this. If I go ahead with it, my work might very well be derided by the scientific communities, and I want it to be taken seriously! But the volus claims that if I structure my work to be overly scientific, then it simply won't gain the exposure I wish it to have... so I need to find some middle ground to keep everyone happy."

"That makes sense to me, you can't have your pancake and eat it too," Aethyta nodded with a chuckle, as she scooped the last pancake from the plate, smeared jam on it and took a generous bite. "Unlike me," she added, smugly beginning to chew.

"Well, like I said, I expect my talks with the volus to be... difficult," Liara eventually continued, then turning towards Morgan. "And I believe you said that many of our friends will be present as well? Who's confirmed?"

"Almost everyone," Morgan nodded happily. "Garrus and Tali are moving from Palaven back to Rannoch, and they are making their trip via the Citadel, staying there for a few weeks."

"Wonderful," Liara grinned. "Ah, now I regret not taking Lita along, she might have enjoyed playing with their kids, but I'm sure there will be other opportunities." Morgan nodded, remembering her shock and happy surprise one day opening a message from Tali and reading that they had chosen to adopt two turian kids, a boy and a girl, both Tali and Garrus hardly able to contain their excitement about the prospect of becoming parents through adoption. "Shiala, you might remember our friends from Feros, a turian sniper and a quarian engineer."

"Yes, I do remember them, they were most pleasant," Shiala nodded politely. "Though I doubt they would remember me."

"Oh, don't be so sure," Liara smiled. "Who else, Morgan?"

"I think Wrex and his gang will make an appearance," Morgan said, deep in thought, wondering if she had left out somebody. "And Miri is coming from Horizon, but she wasn't sure whether her sister will make it. Not to mention that we have a whole host of friends still living on the Citadel."

"Now I can't wait to go," Liara confessed, looking downright giddy with anticipation.

"Yeah, me too," Morgan nodded, smiling. "And I think while you deal with your volus, I'll probably use that day to go and see all the councilors, remind them of my existence and probably receive a dozen of irritating Spectre errands to run." At least there was one councilor she was always happy to see, in fact, she had been looking forward to meeting Tevos ever since her visit on Thessia. Valern and Sparatus did not exactly scare her either, and Raan was always pleasant, now that the geth no longer had the quarians acting completely irrationally. She felt a little apprehensive about dealing with Hackett, wondering if he might feel a little aggrieved about her leaving the Alliance, but deep down she knew Steven Hackett was a man of honor and integrity, above such petty feelings. Then there was the new krogan councilor that was a completely unknown quantity to her, and of course, their old friend Legion, now in his special advisory council position.

"Father, would you be so kind to cancel all our invitations for the week we will be away on the Citadel?" Liara spoke up suddenly, seeing that Aethyta was about to leave the table.

"Of course, but why bother... you never attend any social gatherings on Armali anyway," Aethyta shrugged.

"It is still polite to reply, even if it is to decline," Liara pointed out. "Besides, I don't think we plan to dodge them the whole time," she added, before looking at Morgan. "Things have just been a bit too busy lately."

"What Liara said," Shepard nodded. It was true, as the rebuilding efforts on Thessia entered their final phase, more and more asari began to slowly return to their old social lives of pre-invasion. Shepard and Liara received at least five invitations to some party or banquet every week, the hosts obviously wanting to raise their profile by having such important guests participating. Eventually, Shepard felt that she would like to explore this aspect of the asari lifestyle as well, but for now, other issues took precedence.

The restoration of cultural objects were, of course, included in this last phase of rebuilding. Liara was rather looking forward to the reopening of the Armali Opera House in two months, having already booked places for the opening night gala for them both, Aethyta and Shiala. With the opening of the local theater scheduled for the next year, it seemed that the cultural renaissance of Thessia was not far off.

"Sure, sure, I'll decline for you, and I'll even try not to be rude about it," Aethyta chuckled, rising from her seat and turning to leave, idly placing her hand on Shiala's shoulder as she walked by, doing so in a way that made the usually controlled commando stiffen and appear almost frozen.

"So... Shiala?" Liara spoke up, the gesture not having escaped her or Shepard. "When did Matriarch Aethyta first invite you to her bedchambers?"

Shiala opened her mouth, but for a while she just seemed to be gasping for air, forgotten how to speak. "...ah... roughly two weeks ago," she eventually managed, her green skin hiding her blush well.

Liara sighed, shaking her head, unable to hide her smile. "Are you happy with such arrangement?" she asked, sounding a little concerned. "Knowing your devotion to our family, I fear that you might have consented even despite your personal preferences..."

"Oh... no, Mistress Liara, it is not like that at all!" Shiala protested vehemently. "I am honored by the Matriarch's attention and find it extremely flattering. In fact... she has been helping me, and I am very grateful to her for that."

"Helping in what way?" Liara asked, looking at Shiala curiously.

"After... my experiences with the Thorian... and exchanging the Prothean Cipher with Mistress Shepard, I... had not dared to enter a meld with anyone," Shiala confessed quietly. "I had no idea how the Thorian had affected me, I experienced terrible headaches and nausea, still experience them now, but to lesser extent. And the changes it caused to me... I have endured humiliation from fellow asari because of my appearance, and I could not even dare to think that someone might find me attractive... but Matriarch Aethyta has changed a lot about the way I see myself."

"I'm very pleased to hear about that," Liara said. "My father is perhaps the most open minded asari that has ever lived," she added with a chuckle.

"Regular melding has also eased the negative effects of the Thorian influence still plaguing me. I have experienced headache only once during these past two weeks and it was very light compared to what I was used to."

"Perhaps we shouldn't take you on a weeklong trip, then?" Shepard asked with slight concern, still feeling happy that Aethyta had been able to help Shiala.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Shiala replied with a smile that was almost shy. "There... ah, might be... opportunities on the Citadel..."

"Very true," Liara grinned. "In that case, make sure to have everything packed, we will be leaving in three days time." She stood from her seat, pulling Morgan along with her, before walking over to Lita's baby seat and scooping the bored looking child up in her caring arms. "But now, Morgan... let's spend the entire day together with our child, shall we?"

"Nothing would please me more," Morgan smiled, watching Liara's biotics igniting with a slight crackle, helping her carry Lita, their child already weighing a little too much for Liara to carry unassisted for prolonged periods of time. "How does a skycar trip to the mountainside and then a comfortable, beautiful walk sounds to you, my lovely ladies?"

"Perfect," Liara replied, Lita also vehemently nodding her approval, the child's bright blue eyes sparkling with joy and anticipation. "It sounds just perfect..."


	5. The Zorah-Vakarian Clan

**Chapter 5 - The Zorah-Vakarian Clan**

_Year 2191 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

"Oh, how I have missed this sight," Liara said, a little wistfully, looking outside the windows of the asari carrier, having emerged from the mass relay of the Serpent Nebula.

"I'm amazed they have managed to rebuild an entire ward this quickly!" Shepard exclaimed in surprise, the massive space station looming in the distance, looking exactly how she remembered it from her first visit many years ago, all five arms spread wide open. Seeing the Citadel like this truly made her feel as if the galaxy had returned to normal.

"Correction, the Zakera Ward has not been rebuilt," someone spoke up from the seat behind them, Liara and Shepard both turning their heads to look upon a friendly appearing salarian, also taking the trip from asari space. "They simply constructed a shell to close the station for transportation. Presumption, rebuilding an entire ward too costly and time consuming."

"Okay... that makes a lot more sense. Thank you," Shepard smiled at the salarian, watching him blinking and then quickly nodding in reply.

Shortly after, the large transport vessel had docked and passengers began leaving the ship in droves, Shepard, Liara and Shiala allowing those in rush to hurry past them, taking their time and stepping off the carrier as one of the last. "Where to next?" Morgan asked as they finally found themselves in the large docking bay, each carrying a suitcase with their belongings.

"Well... we might want to drop off these first before we head out exploring..." Liara said, pointing at her suitcase. "Councilor Tevos has reserved rooms for us on the Presidium, one of the luxurious apartments reserved to special guests of honor."

"That's very nice of her," Shepard smiled.

"I'm just relieved that we haven't been ambushed by any reporters yet," Liara sighed, as the three of them began to walk towards the nearest shuttle station.

"Yeah, I almost decided to wear those nice asari robes Aethyta gave me, shave off my hair and paint my face blue so that nobody would recognize me," Shepard chuckled. Instead, she had chosen to wear her leather costume, tight black pants and a matching trenchcoat, similar to what she had once spied Miranda wearing back on Earth. Liara jokingly called it the Aria-style, but in truth she adored how Morgan looked in it and often had difficulties tearing her eyes off from her bondmate.

"I don't think you need to blend in with the asari quite that much," Liara laughed, once again giving her outfit an approving glance. She herself was wearing a more traditional, lovely robes of white and blue, while Shiala behind them was wearing a set of commando leathers, the deep green color blending nicely with her skin, not to mention doing an excellent job at showing off her muscular, trim body.

"I suspect the reporters have been too busy focusing on the celebrations, and actually took the bait of the declination that we sent," Morgan mused as they got into one of the empty skycars, she and Liara both getting into the back, letting Shiala take the front seat and fly them the short distance to the Presidium. "Though I guess it's too much to hope that they won't spot us sometime during the week."

"Hopefully not when we're visiting Morlan's Adult Emporium," Liara whispered to her, then bursting in giggles, not deterred by the roll of the eyes Shiala gave them.

"Yes, that might be slightly embarrassing... I think we'll probably compile our order on the extranet and then send Shiala to pick it up, I wouldn't want Khalisah al-Jilani catching me with... all those items on Aethyta's list. I don't think I'd be able to show my face on the Citadel ever again," Morgan found herself blushing from the mere thought of such possibility. "Shiala, you would not mind helping with that, would you?"

"Of course not, Mistress Shepard," Shiala replied, sounding just a little amused, making it clear that she thought Morgan and Liara were behaving completely silly. _And she's probably right about that,_ Morgan admitted, laughing to herself.

"See if you have any new messages on your omni-tool, Morgan," Liara said, checking her own backlog of notifications. "It seems my publisher wants to see me in two days. Perhaps you could try and schedule your meetings with the Council on the same day."

"Yes, good idea," Morgan nodded, starting to browse through all the spam messages that somehow always managed to find their way to infiltrate her private channels. "Oh hey, there's one from Garrus... from all the typos in his message, I think he's had a bit too much celebrating in the past few days. Anyways, they want to know where we are and whether we want to join up."

"That's a great idea, I think we should definitely arrange to do something together," Liara nodded, smiling broadly.

"I think I will suggest something harmless like having dinner, or else Garrus will want to renew our rivalry about who is the better shot, and I'm horribly out of practice," Morgan chuckled, sending a brief message to both Tali and Garrus to inform them that they had arrived on the Citadel. They didn't have to wait long for a reply, apparently Garrus, Tali and their two adopted children were lazily exploring the Presidium and wanted to meet at the earliest opportunity.

In the end, they agreed to meet in an hour's time in a cafe near the old Apollo's. Hers and Liara's favorite restaurant on the Citadel hadn't survived the Reaper attack, but now many new establishments had sprung up in its place as the Citadel along with the rest of the galaxy experienced a rapid rejuvenation. This left Shepard and Liara with enough time to locate the beautiful apartment that Tevos had reserved for them, drop off their bags and admire the view of the Presidium below for a few minutes.

"You know... much as I miss being parted from our daughter..." Liara suddenly began to speak slowly, as they stood side by side at the window of the apartment. "I am also becoming aware of certain... benefits of **not** having her here with us..."

"Such as?" Shepard asked in a teasing voice, inching just a little closer to her bondmate.

"I'm sure you will come to that realization sooner or later," Liara replied innocently. "And if you cannot figure out it on your own, my dearest Spectre, you will just have to wait for me to show you... patience is supposed to be a key asset in a Spectre's arsenal, is it not?"

"Maybe... but my patience likely won't stretch far into the evening, Dr. T'Soni," Morgan grinned, watching traces of hunger creeping into Liara's predatory gaze as the asari's eyes wandered over her body.

"Yes... I think it is likely that I will not force you to wait that long..." Liara purred, before the mood was suddenly broken by a buzz of her omni-tool, Liara checking the chrono and realizing that they needed to hurry. Shiala had made the excellent suggestion of renting a skycar for the week of their stay on the Citadel and their loyal commando bodyguard was awaiting them just outside the entrance of the apartment complex, smiling as she saw Liara and Shepard finally appearing, quickly making their way over and getting inside the skycar.

The only regret about this rushed meeting Shepard had was that it didn't give them the opportunity to buy some gifts for their friends' children, but as they caught up with Tali and Garrus at the restaurant, watching the two turian kids fighting over the rights to hold a large plush elcor, it appeared as if the little ones were well covered as far as toys were concerned.

Many warm hugs were exchanged, mostly between Tali, Liara and Shepard, Garrus as always slightly more reserved, but still a little emotional as he introduced Morgan and Liara to their adopted children, Tomko, a boy of eight, and Katinii, girl of seven years of age. Having learned that the human before them was the famous Shepard, Savior of the Galaxy, the two kids kept giving Morgan slightly disbelieving stares, no doubt having expected the hero of the galaxy to be at least ten yards tall, with a burning stare and booming voice. Shepard didn't exactly blame the kids for feeling a bit disappointed, especially in her civilian clothing, she managed to appear boringly regular.

After Tomko and Katinii had satisfied their curiosity about the friends of their parents, Shiala was able to coax them away from the table, leaving the grownups alone to talk. Watching the kids being more fascinated by the formidable asari commando actually made Shepard a little envious, but then she merely chuckled about feeling so silly. "If I were an elcor, I'd certainly feel a bit put off from watching that," she laughed, watching the kids starting their fight again, tugging at the plushie, neither gaining the upper hand.

"Shepard... you are aware that the Citadel toy shops have plushies of every species in the galaxy?" Garrus said, obviously having done some very recent shopping. "Yes, even human plushies... they sell the worst, I think, except the Shepard plushie. I think it's one of the most popular."

"Who could be even more popular than me?" Shepard asked airily, appearing to pose coquettishly, only succeeding in making her friends laugh.

"Well, let's see..." Tali mused. "I think Shepard plushie was the third most popular. Obviously, the Blasto plushie will never be pushed off the first spot. And the second place belonged to Harbinger plushie."

"Harbinger... plushie?" Shepard groaned. "By the way, are we even getting royalties from this?" she asked, turning to Liara. "I can't remember signing anything to allow this..."

"We're getting 200.000 credits annually, plus 0.25% off from every toy sold," Liara replied.

"Hey, that's not bad!" Morgan nodded. "Now we just need to figure out what to do with all those credits... anyway, we better order something," she said, only then noticing that the others were already studying the menus, Tali and Garrus lovingly huddled closely and reading from the same datapad, deciding together on what they would order. Morgan could not help but to smile, watching her friends so unquestionably happy together. With her suit and face mask, Tali obviously looked as Morgan had always remembered her, but without his armor on and dressed in formal clothing, Garrus looked almost unrecognizable. If the turian wouldn't now and then interject with one of his customary sarcastic quips, Morgan might have almost started to worry that her old friend had been replaced by some odd stranger.

"We had thought that you would be bringing Lita with you," Tali remarked, once they had all ordered their food. "Though I'm not sure you could have just left her alone with those two," she pointed to their two kids, looking in awe at Shiala as the asari was now using her biotics to make the plush elcor levitate up and down, like a large and fuzzy balloon.

"No, I don't think so... Lita really needs a lot of attention still, she's not very stable on her feet yet, and while she can manage a few words, it's hard to persuade her to actually speak," Shepard explained. "And of course, she'll grow up slower than your kids, so they'll never really be in the same age group, I'm afraid."

"And to answer your question, Matriarch Aethyta felt that she was becoming a little too dependent on me, so she urged us to leave Lita behind for this trip," Liara added, then scrunching her face thoughtfully. "Although... I feel as if it was only an excuse and she actually thought that Shepard and I needed some time alone... for the first time in five years."

"Well... I can't argue that it isn't appreciated, much as I love our baby daughter," Morgan smiled, moving her leg a little closer to Liara's under the table and brushing lightly against her bondmate.

"I can understand that, it can become a little... overwhelming," Tali agreed, giving another loving stare at their kids playing nearby. "But it's such a wonderful, rewarding feeling watching them grow up. Of course... adoption has its advantages, we escaped the horrors of diaper changing, potty training, breast feeding and sleepless nights... I'm a bit sorry for you, Liara!"

"Trust me, Tali, even if it was not all easy, I would not have traded these past years for anything," Liara replied with passionate conviction, making Morgan impulsively reach closer and plant a soft peck on her bondmate's cheek.

"She wants two more after we settle on Rannoch, can you believe that?" Garrus added, trying his best to look frustrated, but failing completely, actually appearing excited about the possibility. "A quarian boy and a girl... for the full set, I suppose."

"He will never admit it, but it was his idea, actually," Tali added, starting to laugh at Garrus' affronted expression. "He might be grouchy and grumbling, but he is crazy about those kids, I can tell."

"I always knew that Garrus would make a wonderful father," Liara nodded. "Don't ask me why," she added, seeing Garrus looking at her questioningly. "You just have the right kind of personality, Garrus."

"If you say so, Liara," Garrus shrugged, a little unconvinced. "Still, I must confess, I'm looking forward to moving to Rannoch. Even if Tali had been talking about building a house of our own, and now apparently we won't even have to do that."

"Yes, it has all been taken care of," Tali nodded, seeing Morgan and Liara facing her with questioning stares. "The geth, and subsequently Legion, learned that we are moving to Rannoch. Legion made sure that a comfortable dwelling already awaited us once we arrive. They built it over four days, would you believe it?"

"Bloody geth, too industrious for their own good," Garrus grumbled good-naturedly.

"Don't you whine, it would have taken us four years to build it, if not more!" Tali admonished him, activating her omni-tool and bringing up several images to share with Shepard and Liara. Morgan was forced to quickly agree that the two-storied mansion of reddish stone blocks looked very impressive, interesting fusion of rustic appearance and cutting-edge technology. "It is based on old blueprints several centuries before the war with the geth," Tali explained. "Long time ago, the most influential quarians lived in houses such as this one."

"That is a lovely house, Tali," Liara said, smiling. "I look forward to visiting you on Rannoch."

"We'll be happy to have you any time, Liara, but remember that I have seen the pictures of your estate, and it's by far more impressive," Tali replied.

"In that case, we will be happy to welcome you on Thessia," Liara quickly countered.

"Any regrets about leaving Palaven?" Morgan asked, looking at Tali and Garrus in turn.

"Well, we are not leaving it forever," Garrus shrugged. "But after living for four years next doors to my parents... yeah, actually a bit relieved to be leaving. At least, Palaven is slowly starting to recover now that the geth are there... just wouldn't have felt right to leave while the planet was still a complete and utter mess."

"It was a little frustrating to watch them steadfastly refuse the geth offers for help, yes," Tali admitted. "And your parents aren't really all that bad, Garrus, I expected worse. Even your dad seemed to have accepted me... in his own special way."

"In that special way in which he called you 'that wicked quarian seductress'?" Garrus asked innocently.

"Hey, I thought it was flattering!" Tali laughed. "Besides, Solana always knew just how to get your dad to back off when he started to rant too much. I'm going to miss her the most, I think... good thing she promised to come visit often. And she's so good with the kids, too..."

"That's good to hear," Morgan nodded. "But anyway, if your plans for building a house of your own have been spoiled by overly enthusiastic geth, what are you going to do now? Sure, I imagine that trying to keep four kids out of trouble might take a hell of an effort, but... I just can't see you two becoming... domesticated!"

"Well, we have been making some plans..." Garrus started, Morgan noticing with the corner of her eye that Shiala had left the children alone for a moment and was now speaking with an excited looking salarian, flashing his activated omni-tool and staring their way. _Gah, a reporter!_ Morgan groaned inwardly. _I guess it was too much to hope for that they wouldn't notice!_

"Garrus' father expects him to continue 'spying' on the Admiralty while staying on Rannoch," Tali giggled, looking thoroughly amused. "As for me, well, Auntie Raan won't even hear about me stepping down from the Admiralty Board, even if there's not a whole lot to talk about these days, there is peace on Rannoch and I hope it will stay that way. I do have some... ideas for future research, but I do not want to speak about it just yet. We are meeting with Legion later, it is something that the geth might be able to help with."

"Oh, sounds intriguing... and possibly just a little worrying, if it was someone other than you, Tali," Shepard smiled at the quarian, continuing to observe the exchange taking place between Shiala and the salarian. The heated argument was now joined by the volus proprietor of the restaurant, who simply shrugged his stubby shoulders when faced with the salarian reporter's demands. Obviously, the volus was not impressed with the reporter either, not wanting the salarian to bother his customers during their meal. Shiala took it as a sign that she was free to employ a small amount of violence, and moments later the salarian found himself biotically flung over the tables, rolling down the steps leading to the restaurant entrance, and quickly scurrying away, limping slightly. The asari commando turned towards them and innocently shrugged her shoulders, as Shepard grinned at her, giving an emphatic thumbs up.

"I haven't quite decided what I want to do next, Shepard," Garrus admitted after a long and thoughtful pause. "Sure, Hierarchy has been peppering me with all kinds of offers, and I was considering some of the positions of consulting advisories, when I realized that I actually wouldn't have any say over anything in the end. And working within the tight structure of the military... it'd be the C-Sec all over again, red tape everywhere. I just don't play nice with those rigid rules, you all know that, right?"

"Yep, I suppose you have a point there, Garrus," Morgan admitted.

"And pulling something like that Archangel insanity on Omega, well... I think I'm getting too old for that, Shepard. With Tali, and the kids, I mean... it's just no longer about only what I want myself, you know?"

"Only too well, Garrus," Shepard nodded. "Only too well..."

"Garrus, guns are your other passion other than Tali, we know that as well," Liara said, grinning. "You have a lot of invaluable knowledge about different kinds of weapons systems. Maybe you can think of something in that direction, perhaps some sort of private enterprise?"

"Hey... you might be onto something, Liara," Garrus nodded eagerly. "Yes... I have several ideas already! Hmm... this might work, yes, this just might work!"

"Oh great... now he won't talk of anything else for days," Tali grumbled, giving Liara a hard stare. "Thanks..."

"...I was only trying to help," Liara actually looked a little disappointed, immediately forcing Tali to apologetically pat the asari on her hand.

"It's alright, I know, I was just trying to make a joke at your expense..." the quarian quickly apologized.

"So when are you guys leaving for Rannoch exactly?" Morgan asked, starting to get a bit impatient when the waiters were still not showing up with their meals.

"Tomorrow afternoon," Garrus replied.

"What, already?" Morgan winced, unpleasantly surprised. "Damn, in that case we really should spend more time together before you leave. How about joining me and Liara this evening for some drinks?" Liara nodded eagerly at that.

"Well... I'm not sure what to do with the children, though," Tali said, looking a little unconvinced. "I wouldn't feel safe about leaving them alone in the hotel."

"You could bring them along, they seem to have really hit it off with Shiala," Shepard suggested, looking at the asari commando playing with the children.

"Shepard... I'm not sure that's fair to Shiala," Liara shook her head. "She deserves to have an evening off as well, it would be wrong to exploit her so much."

"Yeah... good point," Morgan agreed, then looking back at Tali and Garrus. "How about breakfast at our place, then? Around ten o'clock or so?"

"That sounds perfect, Shepard," Tali nodded, then pointing at the waiters approaching their table, bringing their orders. "And there's our food, right on time."

"Finally," Shepard exclaimed, feeling her stomach rumbling in excitement. "I'm starved!"

* * *

After parting from Tali, Garrus and their adoptive children, the rest of their first day on the Citadel passed before they even noticed. They spent it by exploring the Presidium, simply enjoying the views and browsing the countless shops, more often than not ending up buying yet another toy for Lita. Apparently it was the turn of the asari representatives to be in charge of the Presidium decorations, which was why Shepard and Liara both felt even more at ease, as if they were back on Thessia, surrounded by the familiar sights. In the end, they decided to take pity on poor Shiala and cut their shopping spree short, the silently suffering commando carrying all their purchases and looking like an overworked beast of burden.

By the time they got back to their apartment, the artificial day-night cycle had already shifted and the 'sky' around them had darkened, making the lush parkland below look particularly beautiful and enchanting. "Will you require my services this evening, Mistress?" Shiala asked, having brought their purchases up to their apartment, and looking a little relieved to finally be rid of all the stuff.

"You can have the rest of the evening off, Shiala. Go out and have some fun," Liara smiled at the glint of excitement briefly appearing in the commando's eyes. "We'll see you at breakfast." Shiala nodded at that and all but ran out of the apartment.

As Liara stood at the window, watching the sights outside, Morgan plopped down on the impossibly soft bed and began to browse her omni-tool for the latest updates from their friends. "Oh... Miranda's arriving tomorrow afternoon, just as Tali and Garrus are leaving," she said, having read the message. "And apparently Oriana has made it after all, she should have arrived from Sur'Kesh yesterday already."

"Sur'Kesh? How curious, what is she doing on the salarian homeworld?" Liara asked, turning away from the window, intrigued.

"Apparently her aptitude scores were higher than those of an average salarian, so she has earned an opportunity to attend some prestigious xenobiology courses," Shepard explained. "I thought Miranda was about to burst from pride when she wrote to me about that," they both shared a chuckle at that. "Anyway, she wants to go out tomorrow evening, Miranda, her sister, Kasumi and Bau, and the two of us."

"Oh, that sounds lovely!" Liara agreed happily.

"Yeah, I've missed them all," Shepard nodded, selecting the next message, her face quickly forming a frown as she saw it. "Meh... Wrex isn't coming after all." Liara faced her with a questioning and disappointed stare. "Looks like another of his food tasters died suddenly... that's not very encouraging! He's staying on Tuchanka to sort things out, and Grunt and Kurin are tracking down whoever is responsible for this latest attempt."

"You are right, that is worrying..." Liara sighed. "Goddess, I do not envy anyone who has that job. And the food probably tastes horrible, even when it is not poisoned!"

"Heh, it probably does at that. Anyway... I suspect there's more to this, though. Remember what Tevos told us about the krogan harassing the remaining batarians in Kite's Nest? I suspect the main reason is that Wrex doesn't want to deal with the fallout of it all, which he would have to do if he showed up on the Citadel. It seems like he would rather prefer that his 'less retarded nephew' of a councilor deals with it."

"Very sly of Wrex. But perhaps you should speak with him again and remind him that he cannot just hide on Tuchanka and pretend that the problems of the entire galaxy do not concern the krogan."

"Yes... but that is an issue for another day," Morgan said, powering down her omni-tool and giving an appraising glance directed at Liara. "Now, are you going to stand there by that window the entire evening?"

"Just for a while more," Liara replied softly. "I have missed this view, it soothes me... and it reassures me that the galaxy is finally at peace..."

Shepard got out of the bed and walked over to the window, standing just behind Liara, wrapping her arms around her bondmate's waist and also looking outside. "Yes, I think I know what you mean," she agreed quietly, watching the softly lit up parks, more brightly illuminated fountains and the gentle rippling of the purified waters of the artificial lake in the middle of the Presidium.

"I was just thinking..." Liara started to speak, shifting slightly and leaning back into Shepard's embrace. "Remembering where I was mere ten years ago... stuck on some dig in Traverse... and everything that has happened since, it still makes my head spin when I think about it. And now I'm here, bonded to the savior of the galaxy, bonded in every sense of the word save for the actual bracelets on our wrists... with a beautiful baby awaiting us back home, with three years of brutal war fighting ancient machines of destruction that hundreds of other cycles before us failed to stop... three years that to me felt like three centuries..."

"I know... it's crazy to think about it," Morgan agreed softly. "Ten years ago, I felt as if I was completely stuck in the rut, wondering if Elysium would remain the high point of my military career... and then, soon after that, David invited me to the Normandy project, and the rest... well, I guess the rest is history. But yes, standing here with you, looking outside at the Presidium below... I... I feel good about what we did. Proud," she added, hugging Liara a little more tightly as the images of the friends that the war took from them briefly passed before her eyes, tearing a pang of guilt and hurt in her heart, but she quickly tried to brush it away. "I... I think I'm starting to come to terms with it all a bit better... day by day... but it's getting easier."

"That is good to know, love," Liara said, sounding a little relieved. "But, Morgan... I did not choose to look into the past in order to stir up painful memories."

"They're... no longer that painful," Morgan admitted quietly, before her voice took on a more mischievous edge. "But since you brought it all up... maybe you should now find a way to distract me..."

"Distract you? I am certain that I have no idea what you're talking about, Spectre," Liara replied playfully, adopting her innocent scientist voice, the one that always made Shepard's knees become weak, especially when the asari used it to speak something dirty or sexy. "Do you mean that I should implore you to tear these clothes off me, carry me to the bed naked, and then make me melt in your arms as I am crying out your name?"

Shepard's entire body trembled at the way Liara spoke these words, cursing and yet at the same time rejoicing in her intoxicating inability to deny anything to this captivating, beauteous creature, making it so hard for her to retain self-control by using only her voice. The zipper at the back of Liara's robe gave in quickly and Morgan wasted no time in beginning to nip hungrily at the exposed flesh of Liara's shoulder. "Maybe we should have sent Shiala to Morlan's store before we gave her that evening off, hmm?" she asked, her hands roaming the firm plains of the asari's stomach, fingers tracing their way downwards before starting to push off Liara's panties with agonizing slowness, the asari biting her lower lip to suppress a gasp.

"I think we will do just fine tonight," Liara laughed as Morgan finally gathered her delightfully naked body in her arms and carried her towards the bed. "Yes... we will do just fine..."


	6. A Few Good Women

**Chapter 6 - A Few Good Women**

_Year 2191 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

Having seen off Garrus, Tali and their kids, leaving for Rannoch onboard of a passenger carrier, Shepard and Liara hurriedly walked back to the nearby parked skycar, Shiala waiting to take them to one of the Presidium restaurants that Miranda had chosen for their meeting. "The Happy Hanar?" Shepard blinked, having read the name of the restaurant along with the directions on her omni-tool. "Sounds more like a cheap pub to me."

"It's very critically acclaimed, Morgan," Liara said politely. "And not just by other hanar."

"Hopefully because of the food," Shepard grumbled, then grinning as she threw a quick glance at their ever serious driver. "You've been really quiet today, Shiala. Had an interesting evening?"

"What time did you get back?" Liara asked.

"I think it was around four in the morning, and yes... it was... interesting. I enjoyed it," Shiala replied, the green skin on her cheeks turning just a little bit darker.

"You can probably order her to spill the beans about everything, right?" Morgan gave Liara a wicked grin.

"If you really must know, Mistress Shepard, I actually spent the evening together with a lovely human lady," Shiala finally replied. "And no, I did not meet her in a seedy nightclub, I was actually on my way back, when I caught this girl looking at me in one of the public transport terminals. When we locked our eyes, she started to blush and went back to study her datapad... it was... rather endearing, really."

"I did not know that you were fascinated by humans, Shiala," Liara remarked, though nothing in her tone suggested a warning to Shiala not to become fascinated by _her_ human.

"Clearly there's something about Shepard that you find enchanting, Mistress Liara, so I was tempted to try and find out what it might be," Shiala replied with a smile. "After all... it can't be all about the hair, as some of the servants are whispering."

Shepard looked at Liara, blinking, before they both started to laugh. "I thought only Liara has this weird hair fetish," Morgan chuckled, earning a light slap on the knee from her bondmate. "Anyway, did you get to touch her hair, Shiala?"

"Only very briefly, when we kissed right before parting... it was very nice," Shiala was only too happy to elaborate. "So very soft, I didn't want to let go..."

"Well... play your cards right, and you'll probably get to discover just where else this girl has hair on her body," Morgan chuckled, earning an exasperated look from Liara.

"Honestly, I can't take you anywhere with me, when you make embarrassing comments like that!" the asari berated her snickering bondmate.

"She did say something about wanting to study me, to which I replied that I would consent if I could study her in turn," Shiala grinned salaciously. "I was surprised that she found the strange color of my skin to be attractive, and she even said she thought it was beautiful. So... umm, Mistress Liara, if you won't need me later tonight, I was hoping if I could..."

"Of course, Shiala, you can have the evening off," Liara was only happy to let the commando leader go out and have some fun. "The friends we are going to meet are all very capable individuals as well, so I'm sure nobody will try anything."

"Yeah, even if we might have a bottle of wine or two, I don't think Kasumi's boyfriend is the drinking type," Shepard agreed. "So you can go out and have some fun with this girl, Shiala. We'll have the top salarian Spectre watching over us, four tipsy ladies."

"I suppose that could be considered... adequate," Shiala nodded, not looking entirely convinced, but biting back any comments as she pulled the skycar over. "There, we've reached The Happy Hanar. I'll just park the skycar and then do a sweep of the area before I leave... just in case," she added as Liara and Shepard got out of the skycar and proceeded into the restaurant, the stairway decorated with tacky statues of hanar acrobats juggling something that vaguely looked like grapefruits.

Miranda, Kasumi and Jondum Bau already awaited them at one of the more secluded booths inside, the slightly hyperactive former thief jumping up from the table and waving to them, trying to attract their attention. Miranda was not really big on hugs, so she settled on warm handshakes, and so did Spectre Bau, simply not knowing Shepard and Liara well enough. Kasumi, however, seemed intent to strangle first Shepard and then Liara in her embrace, before eventually letting them breathe as they all sat down at the table.

"I hope it's not just hanar cuisine on the menu here," Morgan said, picking up the datapad, which was also tackily hanar shaped, the description of every recipe beginning with the words 'This One's special recommendation...' and the like.

"No, they have a little bit of everything," Liara said, having browsed the offer for a while. "Though, actually, I might order something from the hanar cuisine after all, it is surprisingly good, Shepard."

"You're kidding," Morgan blinked. "No... wait, it's probably some kind of seafood, and you love yucky seafood."

"Hey, I love seafood," Kasumi pouted. "I'd join you, Liara, but I have no idea what these dishes are... can you recommend something?"

"I will join you for whatever you choose," Spectre Jondum Bau added, nodding at Kasumi.

"I thought you salarians really loved curry," Shepard said, watching Bau blink at her, surprised and a little stunned. "Ah, probably just a stupid rumor, anyway. What about you, Miranda?"

"Ah, I'm going to be stereotypically pro-human and go for a steak," Miranda smiled. "Care to join me for that, Shepard?"

"Oh boy, a steak? You're damn right I'll go for that, if I can get some lager with it... oh yes, I can!" she cheered, having browsed the datapad menu some more. "Say... wait a moment, Miranda... wasn't your sister supposed to be joining us tonight?" Morgan suddenly remembered, facing the ex-Cerberus operative with an inquiring stare.

"Yes, but she apparently got back to the hotel very late last night, and I simply couldn't wake her up," Miranda replied, rolling her eyes. "It's her first proper trip to the Citadel, discounting some brief transits, so I think she got a bit carried away."

"That's understandable, we won't hold it against her," Morgan smiled, Liara nodding in agreement.

"And speaking of those who should be here, where's little Lita?" Kasumi faced Morgan, a little accusingly. "We've got all those gifts..." she pointed at a large basket sitting just behind Bau's chair, bulging full with toys.

"Aww... I'm really sorry, but we decided to leave her on Thessia with her granddad," Shepard replied apologetically. "My bad, I should have informed you before, but... had way too much on my mind."

"She will be very happy about the gifts, Kasumi, thank you... it was very thoughtful of you," Liara smiled, then exchanging a brief look with Morgan. "Now we just have to get them all to Thessia... that is going to be an adventure in itself..."

"Maybe I can ask Tevos to charter a transport just for us and the toys," Morgan nodded, chuckling. "Anyway... how have you all been?" she asked, turning towards Kasumi first. "I know for a fact that you've been bored, Kasumi. I can barely read through all the funny extranet links you are bombarding us with every day..."

Kasumi gave a dramatic sigh. "Yes, it seems as if my thieving days are over," she exclaimed, giving Bau a reprimanding stare. "Apparently it is bad for the reputation of a Spectre to associate themselves with a lovable rogue like myself."

"That's not the reason, Kasumi," Bau simply shrugged in response, refusing to be baited by the all too obvious guilt trip.

"Fine, fine..." Kasumi's shoulders slumped a little. "It just... feels wrong and petty to steal from someone now, as the galaxy is still trying to rebuild, you know? Besides... I haven't been doing good enough job of sticking to the shadows ever since we did that Hock heist on Bekenstein, Shepard. I've earned a bit of an... unwanted fame and recognition in certain circles, so if anyone would pull off some daring theft, you can bet that every law enforcement agency in the galaxy would be looking my way... don't really care for all that attention."

"Okay, I get that, all good reasons," Shepard shrugged. "Still... I have to ask, why not just find some kind of legit occupation if you're so bored? I bet there's a lot of security firms who would be tempted to kill just to ensure your services!"

"Hmm... yes, I guess that is an option," Kasumi eventually nodded after a small pause, deep in thought. "It's just that I'm afraid that sort of work would bore me. I need something more exciting than testing security appliances in the safety of a lab, I want to be out there, working in the field. Heck, I'm glad that Jondum at least lets me help him with some of his Spectre missions, or I'd really go mad from boredom... the one he's on right now is really exciting! Tricky, but exciting!"

"I imagine you cannot share the details of that mission at a dinner table, Spectre Bau?" Morgan smiled at the salarian.

"I'm afraid it's strongly classified, yes," Bau admitted. He blinked a few times before continuing. "I understand you are meeting with the Council tomorrow? You would do well to speak with Councilor Valern. He might be willing to share some details."

"I suspect he'll be more willing to give me a massive ass-chewing. 'I told you not to cure the genophage, Shepard, but did you listen? Now the krogan are starting to take over one system after another, like we warned you they would! Blah-blah-blah!'"

"You might be surprised, Shepard," Bau simply said, then refusing to elaborate anything beyond that.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that tomorrow will be an exciting day for us both," Morgan sighed, giving Liara a sidelong look, the asari agreeing with a slow nod.

"Really, what are you up to, Liara?" Kasumi quickly asked.

"She has a meeting with the publishers of her book," Morgan replied before Liara had any chance to speak up. "They want her to change the title of her book from 'My Adventures With A Prothean' to 'My Sexy Adventures With A Prothean'." As Liara groaned softly from hearing that, Miranda was busy choking on her drink, requiring Kasumi to slap her hard on her back, Lawson apologizing, slightly red in the face from coughing.

"My commiserations, Liara," Miranda eventually managed. "I know how difficult it is to sell a purely scientific treatise, so you have to understand your publishers as well. They will be investing a significant amount of credits into advertising your book, they want to make sure that they will see their credits rolling back."

"I'm aware of the basics of the economics, Miranda, and I believe I have a solution that will not require me to... ah, sex up the Protheans," Liara said, looking just a bit embarrassed. "I will offer to cover all the advertising costs from my private funds. All I really want from Irune Academic Publishing is their sources and connections, and I think I can get access to those without sacrificing my artistic and scientific integrity."

"That sounds good," Shepard nodded approvingly. "Though, I suspect that pervy volus was really hoping you would add some bits of autobiographical smuttiness to your book."

"Well, he will simply have to cope with the disappointment," Liara huffed.

"It might have made the book more fun to read," Kasumi remarked innocently, causing everyone but Liara to chuckle in amusement.

"Anyway, let's not say something that will make Liara send us flying in a mass singularity field," Shepard eventually offered to placate her slightly aggravated looking bondmate. "Miranda, we haven't even asked about what you have been up to lately."

"Well, I did write to you that I rejected the post they offered me on Horizon," Miranda replied. "Saving lives as a doctor was satisfying for a while, but I knew that the appeal wouldn't last. Besides, the way they set dozens of interns on me at a time, eager to pick my brain... it became very tiresome, even if I could understand their reasons."

"Yes, I would say they were wise to do so," Liara nodded. "Your abilities and accumulated knowledge while working with a certain organization have turned you into a highly unique individual."

"Thank you, Liara," Miranda managed a small smile. "In any case, since Horizon I've spent a few short stints working with both Binary Helix and Sirta Foundation on several projects. I do not want to sign on with either of them permanently, however, I prefer to sign a contract for specific project and then go my own way after it has been completed."

"Oooh, Miri, can we tell them about what we did with Sirta Foundations?" Kasumi gave her friend a pleading stare, Miranda sighing and eventually giving a reluctant nod. "They had really fallen on hard times... even before the Reaper invasion, if you remember... but well, Miri tracked down some of the Illusive Man's accounts and I spent a few weeks working on how to crack them... in the end, Sirta got a very impressive donation that will keep them in business for a decade at least."

"Unless they are completely mismanaged," Miranda grumbled. "Oriana also gave them her impressive inheritance from our father... she said she could never touch those dirty credits, and decided that it would be fitting that this fortune would go to a non-profit organization like Sirta. The first project they funded with those credits was medication for treatment of some lingering post-indoctrination effects. I spent three months helping with that."

"Wow..." was all that Morgan could manage, exchanging pleasantly surprised stares with Liara. "I'm... extremely impressed!" Miranda just looked a little embarrassed at that, while Kasumi was preening proudly.

"You two appear to be working very well together," Liara remarked, smiling. "I do seem to recall making a note of that when you worked with the resistance on Earth."

"Ah yes... those were good times, right, Miri?" Kasumi asked, looking wistful, sinking deep in memories. "I mean, they weren't the happiest times for the galaxy, but I loved working together, it was a lot of fun!"

"Yes, I do recall that time with certain fondness," Miranda admitted. "While I can appreciate the comforts of working in a well equipped laboratory, I must confess that I often find myself missing the job as a field operative. Even working together with you, Shepard... butting heads all the time on the Normandy."

"You two just have too similar personalities, no wonder you couldn't get along," Kasumi giggled, while Morgan found herself deep in thought, unable to forget something both Miranda and Kasumi had said. _They're both bored, and missing active employment as field operatives... they work brilliantly together, and their skill set would make them very effective candidates for... oh, I just wonder if I could pull that off..._

"I suspect I know what you are thinking of, Shepard," she suddenly heard Bau addressing her quietly, Kasumi and Miranda chatting amongst themselves and paying the salarian no heed. "And I agree with you. It is an excellent idea. You should probably mention that to someone," he added meaningfully.

"So, what's the life of Thessia like, now that it has been mostly rebuilt? We've been thinking about visiting," Kasumi spoke up a while later. "Liara doesn't have to fend off hordes of sex-crazed admirers from you?"

Liara couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Hardly... regardless of some of the reputation my people have built over the centuries, we have been focusing solely on rebuilding over these past five years. Though, now that the worst is behind us, I suspect there will be plenty of asari looking for ways to blow off steam and relieve their pent up frustrations of these torrid years gone by."

"I think I have a pretty good handle on how to keep any admirers off me," Shepard chuckled. "I just tell them to go through Liara and get her signed approval."

"Not a single one has actually dared to ask," Liara added cheerfully, then noticing with the corner of her eye an approaching hanar, somehow carefully and successfully balancing five trays of food with his tentacles, quickly depositing three steaming pots filled with something appropriately disturbing from hanar cuisine in front of Liara, Bau and Kasumi, then presenting Morgan and Miranda with their steaks, that actually to Shepard's enormous surprise, looked delightful.

"This One hopes that you will enjoy your meal," the happy hanar spoke, before placing the bottle of lager in front of Morgan and then quickly shuffling off again to serve the other guests.

"Want to try some of this, Shepard?" Liara asked, having fished something slimy and transparent from the soup-like substance she was eating. "It's delicious!"

"It's creepy and frightening," Shepard winced, recoiling. "I can't believe that later on I'm going to be kissing the mouth that has chewed on something as horrible looking as that."

"Keep up such talk, and you'll be sleeping on the other side of the doors," Liara glared at her, Morgan instantly assuming an apologetic expression to placate her irate bondmate. "You should see how she ravages the delicious asurio fruits back on Thessia, even Lita is disturbed by the sight... she eats the disgusting thick outer layer and throws the soft middle part away, which is completely and utterly wrong!"

"Ugh, but the inside is so slimy and yucky, how can you eat that," Shepard countered, refusing to be put to shame over what she was convinced were perfectly logical eating habits.

"Conclusion being, perfectly complimenting each other," Bau aptly summarized, likely finding their bickering somewhat silly.

"Yes... I was just thinking, those two are still so deeply in love," Kasumi chuckled, then sighing dreamily. "Even your arguing is so romantic!"

"Oh, please..." Miranda grumbled impatiently. "Don't put me off the food with this silly romantic nonsense. Besides, you should be eating instead of daydreaming, I'm not letting this steak get cold because of you!"

"Wise words, Miranda," Shepard nodded, taking a swig of the lager and then grabbing the vaguely familiar looking hanar eating implements. "Dig in, everyone!"

* * *

Several hours later, the group of five left the restaurant, beginning a slow stroll through the Presidium, towards the apartment building reserved for the official guests of the Asari Republics. Miranda and Spectre Bau walked at a faster pace at the head of the group, the two completely sober, time and again throwing impatient glances behind at the slightly tipsy trio of Shepard, Kasumi and Liara, walking slowly, chatting all sorts of nonsense and now and then bursting into fits of silly giggles.

"Oh, what now?" Miranda let out a groan of frustration as she noticed that the group of three had stopped outside one of the shops, laughing and discussing something noisily. "What's so funny?" the ex-Cerberus officer demanded insistently, quickly having backtracked to catch up with the others. "Not to mention that all the shops have closed over an hour ago!" Miranda added, waving her arms expressively as if the others hadn't noticed that the Presidium was by now already sinking in darkness, quiet and devoid of people, save for the last few guests of the nearby restaurants.

"Did you know about this place, Miri?" Shepard laughed, pointing at the neon sign above their heads. "This One's Intimate Apparel? Gods... we must come back here when it's open, just for the fun of it!"

"To be honest, they do have a really nice selection!" Kasumi said, peering inside through the window. "Oh... that's a really lovely piece of fishnet over there on that mannequin... really looks great on blue asari skin. What do you think, Shep?"

"I think we should definitely come back here again," Morgan nodded eagerly, having also pressed her face against the glass. "What do you think, Liara?"

"Oh... oh my," was all the asari said. "Are they really already closed?" she added a moment later in a disappointed voice.

"I'm afraid they are, so we should be on our way," Miranda admonished them. "You two getting drunk I can understand," she pointed at the snickering Shepard and Kasumi, before turning to Liara. "But the ever dignified Dr. T'Soni? How did that happen?"

"Not having the weight of the galaxy upon her shoulders can do wonders, Miranda," Morgan said, a little more seriously now.

Liara nodded. "I have discovered that it can be very enjoyable to... as Morgan says, let my guard slip a bit in the company of friends. I'm not really drunk, of course... just... happily tipsy."

"You should take example from her, Miri," Shepard pointed out, Miranda wincing a little from her words.

"Eh... you're probably right," Lawson admitted after a while. "And I can relax as well, Shepard, Ori and I often go out together and have a few drinks, or simply order unhealthy amount of food and spend all night watching all kinds of retro vids... I think my mood is slightly soured due to her absence, even if I don't really blame her for it."

Shepard nodded at that, opening her mouth to speak, but then getting interrupted by Kasumi's exclamation. "No! Liara, no! I... I'm not going back there to break into the store and steal the fishnets for you!" the master thief protested vehemently, ignoring the pouting expression on Liara's lips.

"I can't believe she even asked!" Miranda looked a bit flabbergasted, shaking her head.

"To be honest, neither can I," Morgan nodded. "Kind of a shame she wasn't successful at persuading Kasumi though," she added quietly so that Miranda couldn't overhear her. "By the way, when are you leaving, Miri?" she asked a while later.

"In three days," Miranda replied. "So we could meet again in a few days, if you wish. Hopefully Oriana would be able to join us then."

"That would be wonderful," Liara agreed, falling in step with the others. "With Kasumi and Jondum on the Citadel permanently, they could join us too." The salarian simply nodded to that politely.

"Well, there's our place," Shepard said after five more minutes of brisk walking, as the apartment complex came into the view and they arrived at the entrance shortly after. "Thank you all for the lovely evening... err, where's Kasumi?"

Suddenly, the master thief materialized before them, dropping her cloaking, a little breathless as she stuffed a large box into Liara's hands. "There... and I hope you two enjoy it," she said, grinning broadly. "I'm just far too nice, aren't I?"

In reply, Liara only responded by fiercely hugging the lithe human, together with Morgan quickly muttering some parting words, then swiftly dashing towards the elevator, holding tightly onto the box holding Kasumi's thoughtful present.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Spectre Morgan Shepard found herself lying on the bed in their apartment, twiddling her thumbs slightly nervously, waiting for Liara's appearance. The asari had grabbed the box given to her by Kasumi and disappeared in the bathroom nearly ten minutes ago, and if not for the sounds of light shuffling in the adjacent room now and then, Morgan would have already become worried whether Liara was alright.

Mere moments later, however, the bathroom doors slowly opened, and at first Shepard was presented only with the view of Liara's legs, those beautiful, tall, slim legs, made unbearably, almost painfully desirable by the fishnets she was wearing, slowly revealing more and more of her body inch by inch. Eventually, the asari stepped out of the bathroom altogether, presenting herself in all of her glory, nude save for her new 'costume', noticing that Shepard had all but frozen at the sight before her eyes, as if she had been petrified by staring too long at some kind of mythical Medusa.

"Shepard... are you alright?" Liara asked, arching her hips lightly, not really helping Morgan's situation much. "Am I doing this right?" she asked in her innocent scientist voice.

For a moment, Shepard feared that she might die from the indescribable and insufferable amount of lust she was experiencing. She knew that she had to stop Liara from moving so seductively, and if possible prevent her from speaking... so Morgan did the only thing she could, suddenly and unexpectedly leaping on Liara, possessively tackling her as they both collapsed on the carpeted floor, the fall softened by Liara's flaring biotics. Soon enough, Shepard's excited response robbed Liara from power of speech, but at least one thing became clear to her... she had definitely been doing this right...


	7. The Corridors Of Power

_A/N: Time for Shepard to meet her employers, the (expanded) Council. I know that they get a lot of hate from most fans, and the game portraying them as frankly unrealistically thick headed morons doesn't help. So, I'm going to try and show them as more than just one-dimensional stereotypes serving only to antagonize Shepard and fulfilling the 'all politicians are scum' cliché. _

_Sure, my councilors all still have their own agendas and time from time they will annoy Shepard and butt heads with her, but above it all, I'm also trying to show that the councilors are more than just representatives of their people, they are also individuals with their own personality quirks, some funny, some annoying, and I can't help but to like them. Hope you will like them too! ;) _

**Chapter 7 - The Corridors Of Power**

_Year 2191 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

"So, Shiala..." Shepard spoke teasingly, sitting next to the asari commando in the driver's seat as their skycar quickly sped back from Bachjret Ward to the Presidium Tower for the meeting with the councilors, having dropped off Liara for her meeting with the volus publisher. "Did you have good time last evening? Found out anything new and interesting about us humans?"

"Oh... I discovered plenty new, Shepard," Shiala replied, somehow managing not to blush. "You humans are adorably shy about nudity... I wonder why, your bodies can be very beautiful."

"Yes, we're awkward that way," Shepard chuckled. "You seem quite taken with this girl, Shiala. Think it could get serious?"

"It is too early to say, we haven't even melded yet, I didn't want to push with it too soon," Shiala said, smiling.

"Ha, yet you forced that on me just as we met," Morgan winked at the asari.

"Uh, those were... slightly different circumstances, and different kind of melding. But she is beautiful and very intelligent... I think she said she studies xenobiology amongst many other subjects, or something like that. We've been exploring each other's bodies without the meld, and it has been... highly informative and enjoyable, so I think we'll try melding soon and see where it goes from there."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," Shepard said earnestly as Shiala pulled the skycar at the entrance to the Presidium Tower, then sighing as she remembered that she was about to face fifteen minutes of boredom in the crawling elevator of doom. "Liara will probably be done with her meeting first, by the way," she added, getting out of the skycar.

"Yes, I'll head back to Bachjret right away," Shiala replied. "Let me or Liara know when you're done with the Council and we'll come to pick you up." Shepard simply nodded to that and dashed towards the entrance, hoping to catch the elevator before someone had managed to snap the doors shut in front of her face, leaving her to wait for another half an hour. _That has to be the Council's sneaky idea of managing the flow of visitors,_ Shepard thought to herself, with relief noticing that the elevator was on its way down. _Maybe they just think that everyone wants to spend these fifteen minutes going up and down observing the glorious sights of the Presidium. Go figure._

Morgan had just arrived at the top of the Presidium Tower, when one of Tevos' aides spotted her, bringing her a little aside from the swarm of other visitors, hoping for an audience, most likely in vain. The young asari quickly informed her that the Council session had ended twenty minutes ago, but the councilors, all as one, had requested a meeting with her in private, including the newly elected Representative of Organic-Synthetic Relations, also known as Legion.

_Great, that probably means every one of them has some kind of urgent errand for me to run,_ Morgan groaned inwardly, as the asari aide led her towards the secure area with the offices of the councilors. The large quarters were spread across two floors, the lower floor held the offices of the first Council races, Valern and Sparatus sharing one of the wings, while Tevos had somehow charmed her way to the most luxurious and wider space on the opposite side of the floor. Upper floor was divided roughly equally between the humans, quarians and krogan, with a small office for Legion, which was still much larger than what it had asked for, a simple cupboard where the geth could occasionally store its platform.

_Right... where do we start with... hmm, maybe Sparatus, that should be fairly straightforward, I don't think I have lately given him many reasons to shout at me,_ Shepard decided, parting with Tevos' aide and heading for the turian councilor's office, where after a brief chat with Sparatus' secretary, she was admitted inside to see the councilor.

"Ah, Shepard!" Sparatus greeted her, quickly getting up from his seat and approaching her to enthusiastically shake her hand. "Good to see you, very good indeed... I wonder if you could help me with something."

"Well, I am a Council Spectre, so I guess it is my job," Shepard replied, a little puzzled about the turian's unusually cheerful mood. _Then again,_ _I am here to solve his problems, I guess it's no wonder he's happy to see me, after all. _

"Yes, well... this matter is slightly... unorthodox," Sparatus actually looked a little hesitant speaking those words. "You're a female of your species, yes?"

Shepard blinked. Then she swallowed hard and blinked again. "Err... yes?" she tried. "There are ways to easily tell that, by the way."

"Yes, yes, those impractical, but aesthetically pleasing soft protrusions on your chest," Sparatus spoke impatiently, making Morgan feel even more stunned and confused. "That's not important, though... it simply means that you are qualified to help me," he stepped behind the computer console on his desk and punched a button or two, bringing up holo images with several lovely bouquets of flowers. "Which one do you find most aesthetically pleasing, being a human?"

"Err... well, you can't go wrong with a bouquet of red roses," she managed, having overcome her initial surprise. "But really, Councilor, you don't have to buy me any flowers!"

"Those are not for you, Shepard," Sparatus snapped. "They are for my... date, if you really must know. Red roses... very well, thank you, Shepard. Now, as for the chocolate..." he said, bringing up several more images. "Any recommendations?"

"I think the cow shaped candies are definitely out of the question, it would send the completely wrong signal," Shepard chuckled, then pointing at one of the more tasteful looking boxes. "How about that one? I've heard about Anthon Berg, they're supposedly very good."

"Ah, thank you Shepard, that will do very nicely indeed," Sparatus nodded. "You have been a big help," he added, sitting back down at his desk and starting to work on the console, probably ordering the selected items.

"Wait... you're dating a human lady, then?" Morgan decided to ask. "I thought you couldn't stand humans!"

"Let's just say that I have developed a newfound appreciation for your species, Shepard, and we'll leave it at that," Sparatus replied mysteriously. "Perhaps if I had this insight all those eight years ago, I wouldn't have given you such a hard time when we first met, but nothing we can do about that now."

"Uh... I'm not sure dealing with an amorous turian councilor would have been preferable, so maybe it's just as well," Shepard muttered. _Are we really having this conversation, or did someone slip Hallex to my breakfast tea? _

"Quite so," Sparatus nodded, and for a while there was silence as neither of them spoke. Then the turian reared his head, noticing that Shepard was still milling about uncertainly. "You may go now, Shepard. Once again, I thank you for your aid."

"And... that was it? You don't require anything else?" Morgan asked in disbelief.

"Nothing at all," Sparatus shrugged. "You might try Valern next doors, I'm sure he will have some infuriating and pointless undertaking for you. As for me, I bid you good day."

"Uh, okay... and good luck with that date," Morgan stammered, heading for the doors. _Mission Accepted: Help Turian Councilor Prepare For His Date. Objectives: Flowers Selected: 1/1, Candy Selected: 1/1. Mission Complete. Whoa, if they were all this easy! _She laughed at herself, walking the few steps over to the salarian offices and after a few minutes of wait, getting admitted to enter and see Councilor Valern.

"Ah, Shepard, good to see you!" Valern greeted her, remaining sitting at his desk, merely pointing for her to take a seat opposite to him. "What can I do for you, Spectre?"

Morgan blinked again. _Have they all conspired to utterly and completely confuse me?_ "Uh... I'm the Spectre, right? You give me tasks to perform and I handle them... I thought that was the arrangement?"

"Quite, quite," Valern nodded mysteriously. "Well, I'm afraid there is nothing outstanding that I need you to take care of... but I would ask that you speak with the krogan councilor before you leave, and help him if you are able." _Aha, there we go, a breadcrumb quest! Mission Accepted: Speak With The Krogan Councilor. Objectives: Urdnot Ngagong Spoken With: 0/1. Mission: In Progress. _

"So... you're not going to chew me out for being an idiot and curing the genophage?" Shepard asked, just to make sure.

"What? No, of course not. Proven to be the correct decision at the time," Valern said, surprising her again. "Consequences difficult, but... still, these issues preferable to galactic destruction by the Reapers."

"But surely you are concerned about the krogan actions in Kite's Nest?" Shepard continued to press. "I spoke with Spectre Bau. He did not divulge any details, but he said that he's investigating that issue."

"Indeed. I'm afraid I cannot say anything on this matter, until the investigation is completed," Valern shrugged. "Let me just tell you one thing... this is more than just a couple of krogan clan getting out of control. There are... other forces at play as well. But that is all I can tell you, so do not ask for more, I am not ready to share my suspicions... not until they have become facts."

"Fine, as you wish," Shepard shrugged. "Any idea what the krogan councilor will ask of me?"

"Probably to go to Kite's Nest and investigate the actions of Clan Jurdon and Clan Ganar," Valern shrugged, Morgan wincing a little from the thought of having to travel to a system full with her old friends, the batarians and clans of angry krogan. "It is the krogan way to deal with the issues on the surface... only battling symptoms, instead of the cause. I hope that Bau's work will provide us with more... relevant targets."

"Hmm," Morgan bit her lower lip, deep in thought, wondering just what Valern could be referring to, but nothing immediate came to her mind. "Then I suppose I should go and introduce myself to this Urdnot Ngagong," she added, suddenly hearing heavy thumping noises coming from above. A small bit of plaster came loose from the ceiling and slowly floated downwards to land on top of Valern's head and he brushed it away with disgust on his face.

"He chose quarters right above mine on purpose," the salarian spat, throwing a dirty glare at the ceiling. "And he's doing that intentionally as well, he knows how much it annoys me."

"I hope he can't fall through the ceiling and squish you, Councilor," Shepard remarked, feeling a little amused at the krogan councilor's petty little revenge.

"I'm sure he would be highly amused by that," Valern sighed, then ushering her out of his office urgently. "Off you go now, Shepard. Thank you for checking in."

_Well, this has been interesting so far,_ Morgan told herself, giving a longing stare to the side of the building holding the asari offices, feeling tempted to go and speak with Tevos before visiting with the krogan representative, eventually dragging herself away with sheer force of will, pushing herself towards the upper floors. _I'll just leave the most enjoyable visit for last, it'll be good to have something to look forward to while I speak with the other councilors._

The krogan councilor, as Valern had predicted, was busy stomping across his office, time and time again making a small hop to really drive the salarian downstairs to extreme lengths of frustration. At the sound of the doors opening and Shepard stepping inside, however, Urdnot Ngagong stopped and gave a bellowing laugh as he saw Morgan approaching him. "Ah, Shepard... Hero of the Krogan!" he chuckled smugly, giving her a wicked beady eyed stare. "The hero of my people, obliged to take orders from me! How does that make you feel, hero?" he prodded her on the shoulder with a gnarly finger.

"I have no issues with helping those who have earned my respect, honorable clansmates of yours like Urdnot Wrex and Urdnot Bakara," she replied simply. "Are you telling me that you lack honor and I should not feel any respect towards you?"

The krogan looked thunderous for a moment, before a huge grin spread on his face and he let out a thundering laugh. "Good answer, Shepard! Good answer, indeed!" Urdnot Ngagong bowed his head. "It is true, you do not know me, while I know all about your deeds. You are wise to be cautious. But I have earned my right to be here, as Wrex wisely recognizes. I spilled my blood side by side with Wrex, leading the clans in the defense of Tuchanka against the Reaper forces. And after the war, I protected Bakara from those who would not listen to her message that we krogan should unite and stand as one!"

"I know Wrex wouldn't have sent just anyone here, it means too much to the krogan, and to the whole galaxy," Morgan nodded. "In any case... I look forward to working with you, Councilor Urdnot Ngagong. I am a friend of the krogan, and if there is anything I can do to help your people, I will."

"They were right about you, Shepard, I can see it now, even if you look small, pink and fragile," Ngagong chuckled. "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something that you could assist me with."

"Oh really? I can't imagine what that could be..." Shepard grinned, pointing at the seats near the councilor's desk. "Why don't we sit down and discuss it?" Ngagong nodded and all but jumped into his chair with a loud crash that probably sent a larger piece of plaster smashing down on Valern's desk. "Trust me, you really don't want to fall through the floor and crush that little lizard down there. First of all, you'll cause a diplomatic incident, secondly, they'll send someone much more annoying to serve in his place."

Urdnot Ngagong thought for a while, finally nodding. "Fair enough, I'll give the salarian a break. Now... about that task," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It seems that some of our boys in the Kite's Nest - and by the way, thanks for telling the Council to give us the whole system to play with - have been cracking the remaining batarian skulls a little too enthusiastically, and the Council is starting to get a little worried. Now, I know how much you hate the batarians, Shepard, so you might think what's the big deal if those four eyed freaks get wiped out, right? I completely sympathize, but I can also understand the Council being a bit concerned... I mean, once the batarians are history, those krogan might start to look for someone else to pick a fight with."

_Of course he would think I hate batarians... so many would think that only someone who hates them would have wiped out an entire batarian system,_ Morgan thought darkly. "You're the damn councilor, can't you get your own people to behave?" she asked Ngagong directly, knowing that she didn't have to mince words with the krogan.

"Well... even Wrex couldn't browbeat Clan Jurdon and Clan Ganar into proper shape when they were still back on Tuchanka," Ngagong sighed. "He was real happy when they agreed to go and colonize the batarian worlds. And why not, they're no longer his problems on Tuchanka, right? He's a sly old bastard, that Wrex... he just dropped that problem on to me!"

"Okay, I can see that your situation is unenviable," Morgan nodded, feeling a little pang of sympathy for the frustrated krogan. "But what specifically do you want me to do? I can't single handedly beat up two krogan clans."

"Just do some recon for me, Shepard," Ngagong shrugged. "I want to know what the situation on Khar'shan is like. The clans were told to stay away from the batarian homeworld and leave it to them, but it seems as if that message didn't get through to our people. I want to know how bad is it, before I decide whether to bring in the forces of Urdnot and our loyal clans. If you can speak to the Jurdon and Ganar leaders and convince them to pull out, well, that would be even better... your word holds a lot of weight with the krogan, hero."

"Well... it does seem like something I signed up for, yes," Morgan eventually admitted, even if she wasn't too fond about the prospects of traveling to batarian space. _But I have to, really. I can't just sit on sidelines, resting and growing a layer of fat, I want to be out there and help the Council keep the galaxy safe, for Liara, Lita and any other children we might choose to have._ "I'm going to need a ship, Councilor," she remarked a moment later. "Something with stealth capacity might be preferable."

"Speak with the human councilor next doors," Ngagong replied, a little impatiently. "I think he will be only too happy to give you the ship you need." _Is he talking about the Normandy? He couldn't mean my old ship... surely not? _"As you can understand, this matter is... fairly urgent. The asari councilor warned me that you are currently on vacation, so I will reluctantly respect that, asking that you deal with it as soon as possible."

"I won't sit on it for too long, I promise. But it might take close to a month to plan everything out," Morgan said, rising from her seat. "Now, if that is all, I will go speak with Councilor Hackett." Ngagong waved her off imperiously, and Morgan quickly departed, impatient to speak with her once commanding officer, now also a superior but in completely different circumstances. _I have to say, I'm somewhat impressed with this krogan... he's certainly more than just 'the least retarded cousin' of Wrex's. I guess we'll see just how useful he proves to be..._

_Also, Urdnot Ngagong Spoken With: 1/1. Mission Accepted: Investigate Krogan-Batarian Conflict. Mission Objectives: Secure Ship: 0/1, Travel to Kite's Nest: 0/1 Mission: In Progress. And something tells me that this is going to be one hell of an epic and difficult mission... _Shepard thought to herself, making her way over to Hackett's office, spending a few minutes chatting with Takashima, now working as Hackett's most trusted assistant, waiting until the new human councilor was free to meet her.

"Ah, Shepard!" Hackett seemed very happy to see her, approaching quickly to share a warm handshake, before guiding her to an empty chair and pushing a glass with fine cognac in her hand. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Shepard," the former Fleet Admiral of the Alliance said, pouring a glass himself. "And your presence has been sorely missed, I'm glad to see you returning to work. I trust you have rested and recuperated well on Thessia?"

Shepard gave a deep and pained sigh. "As much as it is possible while trying to rebuild an utterly smashed planet from ruins and trying to look after my baby daughter in the middle of it all. So... I can't say it's been all easy, actually it's been very exhausting, but also rewarding, and... I think I'm happy. We're happy."

"That's good to hear," Hackett nodded. "I must confess, I could do with your help here, Shepard."

"What seems to be the problem?" Morgan asked worriedly. "Trouble on Earth?"

"There's not a single particular thing that springs to mind, it's just that... out here, I feel somewhat cut off from Earth," Hackett explained, before taking a sip of his cognac. "The Alliance is now in good hands, after Singh and those loyal to him were removed through unfortunate accidents, but I have also put a lot of pressure on them to return the power back in the hands of people of Earth. This has come with new power struggles, and new regional leaders have risen as a result, in some cases new and somewhat questionable faces that I have never heard of before. In short... I'm starting to feel a little disconnected from our people on Earth, and I fear that now that the Citadel has been moved, this might become a problem."

"You need to establish sources and channels with these people coming into power, work with them... I'm sure the other councilors could give you helpful advice?" Shepard suggested. "I know that Valern and Asparagus can be a bit abrasive, but I'm sure Councilor Tevos would have some helpful ideas and suggestions."

"She did, actually," Hackett nodded with a smile. "One of her suggestions was to recruit more humans into the Spectre service. I have some promising people from the Alliance in mind, but... Tevos advised me that I should not always simply recruit from the military, as they would not have the sometimes necessary underground contacts as well as..." here Hackett winced a little. "The moral flexibility to perform certain... questionable tasks, that frankly make my stomach churn a little."

"I've had to make a lot of calls like that, Steven," Morgan said softly. "Sometimes we are not left with the luxury of the right and the wrong choice... sometimes all we get is to choose between a horrible and slightly less horrible outcome."

"Yes... too true, my friend," Hackett nodded. "Which is why I'm asking you. Do you know of anyone who could serve humanity and the Council in such a role?"

The grin on Shepard's lips slowly grew wider as Hackett looked at her questioningly. "That was actually one of the things that I wanted to ask you, whether you would have use for more human Spectres," she finally explained. "I believe I have two very promising candidates, both I think are actually overqualified for the position, currently bored out of their minds and looking for some field work... the only difficulty might come in talking them into accepting the position."

"Can I have their names?" Hackett asked impatiently. Morgan reached out and picked up a spare datapad from Hackett's desk, typing the two names and then throwing the datapad back to the councilor. "Don't recognize the first one... but I do know the second... Shepard, are you serious? Is she even available?"

"She might be, I'll talk it over with her, if you're interested?" Shepard asked, receiving an immediate nod. "As for the other candidate, they both worked together with the resistance those five years ago, and she was also on my team against the Collectors, as well as helped on the Crucible project later. She'd be perfect, I assure you."

"I trust you, Shepard. Get them for me, if you can," Hackett did not hesitate for long, much to Morgan's joy. _Gods, I hope they will agree... especially when I explain all about those awesome Spectre perks, and the free get out of jail cards... it would be great to have fellow Spectres like that, might also lessen my workload!_

"I'll give it my best shot," Morgan nodded. "By the way, sir... I spoke with the esteemed krogan councilor, and he's sending me to check out the krogan situation in the Kite's Nest."

"Yes, that's a potentially messy situation brewing there, I'm not surprised. Let me see... a few days ago he asked me about a ship with stealth capabilities for a mission of crucial importance to the Council..." Hackett quickly realized. "You want the Normandy, Shepard?"

"Well... that would be lovely... if I can get it?"

"Yes, I've been keeping it ready for missions exactly like this one," Hackett nodded. "Just say the word, and I'll get the ship prepped for leaving."

"I need a few weeks to lay down the groundwork and gather some solid intel first." _I'll have to ask Liara to pull a favor with the new Shadow Broker and get us some news from Kite's Nest, just so I know what I'm heading into. I hope Liara won't be too mad that I'm taking on such missions again... but I think she will understand._ "I'll let you know before I'm ready to head out, Councilor. Oh... is Joker still assigned to the Normandy?"

"Yes, and so is Lieutenant Cortez, from the old guard. It won't be a problem, will it?" Hackett asked. "Do you want me to get another pilot?"

"No... I think it's about time we bury the hatchet and start behaving like adults," Morgan shrugged, knowing that she had allowed these wounds to fester for way too long. "I'll find a way to make up with him, somehow." _Mission Objective Complete: Secure Ship: 1/1. Gods, it will be so weird being back on the Normandy, with a crew I hardly recognize... but I'm sure that people handpicked by Hackett would be nice and trustworthy. _

"That's good to hear, Shepard. It's about time you two reconciled. But now... enough about work. Tell me about life on Thessia, and about your daughter... indulge an old man's curiosity," Steven Hackett said, smiling as he raised his glass in a toast, urging Morgan to follow his example.

Shepard left Hackett's office roughly half an hour later, feeling a little warm, both from the cognac and the heartwarming talk they had shared, starting to walk towards the office of Councilor Shala'Raan. _Well, that was nice... and here I was worried that Steven would be mad about me leaving the Alliance. He's just... a great man, really. Oh yes, and let's not forget the mission! Mission Accepted: Find New Spectres To Represent Humanity. Mission Objectives: Miranda Lawson Persuaded: 0/1, Kasumi Goto Persuaded: 0/1 Mission: In Progress. ...somehow I expect that Miranda will be the harder sell. I should first speak with Kasumi alone, convince her, and then have her present when I speak with Miri... yeah, that should seal the deal. _

Shepard was slightly surprised upon entering the quarian offices, finding that Raan's secretary was actually geth. _Well, I guess that's a sign that the quarians are not prejudiced towards geth, not to imply that geth should serve the quarians._ The geth pleasantly informed her that despite Councilor Raan currently having a visitor, they would both be pleased to have her join them. Puzzled over who this visitor might be, Morgan entered to find Raan speaking with none other than her old friend Legion.

"A pleasure to see you, Shepard," Raan was the first to greet her, Legion also shaking her hand after the quarian councilor. "I do not have any outstanding issues for our most famous Spectre to tackle, but it is good to see you nonetheless, my friend. Meanwhile, Legion and I were discussing an ambitious plan that Tali has come up with."

"Oh?" Shepard's eyebrows rose with curiosity. "Tali did mention having some idea she wanted to talk over with Legion."

"Yes, she believes that we can work with the geth to somehow boost our immune systems and make it possible for us to once again live without being trapped in these suits," Raan explained.

"That sounds wonderful!" Shepard exclaimed, turning towards Legion. "Do you think that the plan is feasible, Legion?"

"Plan is theoretically sound, we are debating the best method for practical application," Legion replied in its chirpy metallic voice. "We were informing Councilor Raan that even in the best scenario, first results could be expected no sooner than ten galactic years."

"I think the quarians will take that," Morgan smiled, Raan nodding vehemently next to her.

"Shepard-Commander, your arrival is very fortunate. There was another matter we wished to discuss with you," Legion spoke up suddenly.

"Sure, go ahead... unless it's a private matter and we should speak in the geth offices?" _Strange that it still calls me Shepard-Commander... but I guess I'll let that slide, Shepard-Spectre just sounds too dorky._

"We hold no secrets from Councilor Raan. She has the trust of the consensus," Legion said plainly. "Shepard-Commander... we predict that the restoration efforts on Palaven and Earth will last for several more decades, depending on the cooperation of the local governments. They are still allowing only a limited amount of geth platforms on the surface of their planets. As a result, the geth consensus possesses free capacity to pursue other projects, and as our organic friends would say, we are simply looking to find our place in the galaxy. We seek your guidance in this, Shepard-Commander."

"Well... I would say that you should concentrate on projects like the one Tali is proposing," Morgan said. "I think that would be a worthwhile undertaking."

"The consensus agrees. Geth evolution before rejoining the galactic community has always been driven by the necessity of military advancement, to better protect ourselves from the inevitable attack by the organics. We are no longer guided by this motivation. But the consensus is divided by differing opinions regarding where to focus our efforts. Do we offer further aid to the organic races? Some of them are interested in using our expertise in weapons manufacturing and construction of military facilities. The consensus has so far denied all such requests. We would value your input, Shepard-Commander."

"Who's approaching the geth with such requests?" Shepard demanded of Raan, a little angrily.

"Nobody through official sources, Shepard. Privately funded companies from Sur'Kesh and Earth. The Council disapproves of such actions and have issued warnings to these manufacturers," Raan quickly explained. "Not to mention that any such involvement by the geth would have to be approved by the Council, as part of our agreement and Legion's new position."

"Good, that's good," Morgan nodded, satisfied. "I would not want to see the geth used in such manner, I would be very unhappy to learn if something like that was going on. As for your question, Legion... I would suggest for the Council to use the geth fleets as a kind of impartial peacekeepers. For example, we have a situation with the krogan brewing... if we can't resolve it diplomatically, perhaps the mere appearance of the geth fleet in the system would cool some heads."

"It is something to consider, Shepard," Raan nodded thoughtfully.

"Also... if the consensus is looking for beneficial undertakings," Shepard continued. "I'm sure there are still plenty of unconnected systems along the rim of the galaxy that have not even been mapped. They could hold important resources, colonial prospects or simply provide room for expansion, or in the worst case, hold new threats for the galaxy. It could be a mission by the geth to map these systems and see if they hold something important."

"The consensus will deliberate upon your suggestions, Shepard-Commander," Legion replied. "We find them... worthwhile to pursue."

"If I may add," Raan spoke up. "I understand that the asari believe that they possess the technical knowledge to construct brand new mass relays. Added with the technical expertise our engineers acquired while restoring the damaged relays, I believe such task, while lengthy, can be accomplished. We could connect more resource rich systems with garden worlds to the rest of the galaxy!"

"We agree," Legion spoke. "The consensus will add your opinion under advisement, Councilor Raan. We thank both of you for your valuable suggestions. The consensus is pleased to have such dependable allies... and friends, amongst the organic races."

"Happy to help, Legion," Morgan smiled. She then clapped her hands, looking to Raan, then back to the geth. "Now... if there is nothing else, I have one more councilor to visit."

"Thank you for coming, Shepard," Raan nodded politely, Legion following her example. "I hope you have a pleasant stay on the Citadel."

Having parted from Raan and Legion, Morgan all but ran down the stairs and towards the asari diplomatic offices, relieved that she hadn't received any critical missions from the quarians, the deployment to the batarian system already felt like a bit of a burden on her mind. However, it quickly faded while waiting to be admitted into Tevos' study, eager to see their good friend, not having met her in person for more than a year since the asari councilor's last visit to Thessia.

"Shepard!" And Councilor Tevos certainly seemed just as excited to see her, rushing towards her, Morgan quickly finding herself subject to the asari greeting reserved to close friends, Tevos holding her hands while smooching Morgan on both cheeks before releasing her. "Oh, Shepard... forgive me for being an emotional mess, but I just got a message from her... goddess, I simply cannot calm down!"

"There, there," Morgan awkwardly patted the asari on her shoulder, not sure what to say, finding Tevos' excitement rather endearing. "Message from her... I shall venture a guess that you are referring to Aria?"

"Yes! Shepard, she's coming to the Citadel for a whole week! Goddess... I have missed her so badly, it has been driving me crazy as of late," Tevos confessed, still struggling to keep her emotions in check. "She and the girls arrive in ten hours. I... uh, I was thinking about taking a few days of sick leave to... err, catch up with things," she admitted, blushing furiously, especially when she noticed Shepard chuckling at her confession.

"Not to worry, Councilor, your secrets are as always, safe with me," Morgan smiled.

"Shepard, once we have... caught up with everything, I imagine Aria will also want to see yourself and Liara," Tevos said then. "Would you consent to another visit with us? I would love nothing more than to have you both over. I trust you will be here for a few more days?"

"Yes, we'll be here for four more days, and I must confess, I can't wait to meet Aria and the girls again, and I can safely say that Liara feels the same way."

"I will be looking forward to that, Shepard. There is no feeling like being surrounded by the people I... have come to care about, and whom I know I can depend on," Tevos said, still blushing lightly. "But look at me, the ever dignified councilor of the most advanced species in the galaxy, an emotional mess, completely derailed by a simple bit of news!"

"Well... I think I can help you calm down, Councilor," Morgan grinned. "Do you still have some of your elassa supplies?" Tevos nodded, dashing to one of the cabinets and retrieving a bottle and two glasses. "Now, you will join me here on this cushy sofa," Morgan said, sitting down on the comfy pillows, activating her omni-tool as she accepted the drink from Tevos. "We'll have a few glasses of this lovely elassa... and we'll watch some baby pictures while we drink. Yes... I believe there are enough of those on my omni to last us for the next few hours..."


	8. A Worthwhile Purchase

_A/N: Another nod to the inspiring invention of Rae D. Magdon. Rae, you rock. :) Yep, you guessed it, this chapter is a bit on the naughty side. Not too much though. _

**Chapter 8 - A Worthwhile Purchase**

_Year 2191 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

Spectre Morgan Shepard was sitting cross-legged on the bed, blanket wrapped around her legs and covering up to her midsection, as she was completely immersed in studying a certain datapad, trying to calculate the total cost of the purchases on Matriarch Aethyta's list. She didn't even react when Liara entered the apartment together with Shiala, the asari commando carrying a tray with covered plates of food.

"I cannot believe I am pampering you so much to allow you have breakfast in bed," Liara grinned, watching Shiala place the tray next to Shepard, while Morgan slowly pulled the blanket up to her chest to cover herself. Even though living on Thessia meant that she had lost some of her inhibitions, making sure she didn't feel uncomfortable or self-conscious in front of Shiala, she didn't feel like showing herself off to others on purpose.

"And I cannot believe that your father wants to part with eighty thousand credits for her sex toys," Morgan grumbled, briefly putting the datapad down and reaching to grab a toast and softly boiled egg spawned by some kind of chicken equivalent.

"Eighty thousand credits?" Liara blinked, also surprised. "She did not mention it would be this costly. I mean... of course, we can afford it, but... it is just surprising."

"Yeah, there's this one... item that is particularly expensive," Shepard elaborated further. "Fifty-five thousand credits... what the heck could make a dildo so expensive? Is it hand-carved by naked volus maidens, engaged in a ritualistic dance during a full eclipse of the star Aru?"

Liara let out a sharp bark of laughter, stepping closer to the bed. "Can I see that?" she reached out for the datapad, Shepard shrugging as she passed it over to Liara, now too focused on devouring her breakfast, realizing that her research of Aethyta's list of curious implements had left her starving. _Starving for food, that is,_ she added mentally.

"Oh... I have heard about this model, Shepard," Liara spoke up suddenly. "It is very... advanced. It provides..." she leaned closer to Morgan, her voice becoming a whisper as she finished the sentence.

Shepard froze minutely, having heard Liara's words, slowly placing the toast back down on the tray, turning towards her bondmate with a disbelieving stare in her eyes. "You're kidding, right?"

"I am completely serious, the sensory feedback is..." Liara leaned closer again, whispering the rest of the sentence in Morgan's ear.

The stunned, disbelieving stare was now accompanied by a slight twitch in Morgan's cheeks. "The... hell?" she eventually managed. "It lets you do... that?"

"That and more," Liara grinned, quietly elaborating in Morgan's ear again.

For a while, Shepard simply sat there, looking slightly catatonic, Shiala and Liara beginning to exchange worried glances. Then Morgan reached for the datapad again, pulling it away from Liara with trembling hands, starting to type something on it.

"What are you doing, Shepard?" Liara asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Oh, nothing... nothing much," Morgan answered after considerable pause. "Just some... last moment adjustments." She reared her head, looking at the asari commando standing a little away at the window, appearing a little amused. "Shiala, dear, I'll need you to do a little errand for us... well, for Matriarch Aethyta, really. Run by Morlan's 'famous emporium' and pick up all this stuff, would you?" she said, throwing the datapad to the commando who nimbly caught it in the air. "By the way, how did things go with your girlfriend, she reacted well to the melding?"

"More than favorably," Shiala beamed happily. "In fact, she could not get enough of it. She took an almost scientific interest in it, wanting to explore more and more different aspects of it... I was a little relieved when she finally passed out."

Shepard burst out in laughter, Liara also smiling broadly. "Yes, those scientists..." Morgan added, giving Liara a wink. "Insatiable types, I hear..."

"Mistress Liara, the things I must learn about you," Shiala dared to tease, together with Morgan sharing a laugh when Liara blushed adorably. "Anyway..." the commando said, having checked the datapad Morgan had tossed to her. "I can take care of this, if you're willing to trust me with such large sum of credits."

"Of course we trust you, Shiala," Liara spoke quickly. "How much do you need?"

"I've got this covered, Liara," Morgan said, reaching out to grab her credit chit from the nightstand and throwing it to Shiala, who once again caught it deftly.

"One hundred thirty-five thousand," Shiala read from the datapad.

"What? That's not what you said at first!" Liara protested. "No... wait a moment," she said, slowly starting to realize just what 'adjustments' Shepard had made to that list. "Oh... I see!" she eventually managed, giving Morgan a very intense, appreciative stare that sent exciting flutters through Shepard's stomach. "A wise decision, Morgan... most wise," there was that special tone in Liara's voice now that almost forced Morgan to forget all about her breakfast, chase Shiala out of the apartment, drag her bondmate to the bed and do unspeakably wonderful things to her.

"So... there's no mistake?" Shiala asked, one more time, just to make sure, ruining the intense moment between Shepard and Liara. "You really want to spend all these credits on sex toys?"

"Well, you can't argue with Matriarch Aethyta," Shepard shrugged. "Besides, I'm always happy to help enhance the reputation of the asari people as the most sexually depraved species in the Council space."

"I just bet you are," Liara gave Morgan a mildly admonishing stare, before looking back to the other asari. "There is no mistake, Shiala," she said. "Please, do take care of it now, we will be ready to leave by the time you return with those... purchases."

As Shiala nodded and quickly left, Shepard returned to her neglected breakfast, pouring herself some orange juice and drinking it, muttering something between the sips that sounded suspiciously like 'better be worth all those credits'. "So... what have you planned for us today, Morgan?" Liara eventually interrupted her, seeking some kind of distraction.

"Well... you've definitely taken care of your publisher, yes?" Morgan asked one more time. The evening before Liara had explained to her that she had managed to sweet-talk the volus into accepting her proposal, the publisher unable to refuse Liara's generous offer to fund the advertising campaign for her own book, dropping the request to 'sex up' the Prothean research, insisting only on some minor changes that Liara was all too happy to make.

"I wrote to Karin that we would like to see her and Chloe, and she said that they might sneak out of their clinic for an hour or so to meet us for lunch," Morgan explained. "There's a small but comfy tea shop next to where they work, apparently."

Liara immediately broke into a smile. "That is a wonderful idea, it will be lovely to spend some time with them," she nodded.

"And after that, I need to speak with Kasumi..." Morgan said, still deep in thought about that conversation, wondering how to make her sales pitch more convincing. "Later in the evening, we are free to do whatever we want, I have nothing on my schedule. Aria and the girls would have arrived, but from the way Tevos was acting yesterday... she'll want them all to herself for at least a few days," she added with a chuckle.

"I would not mind a quiet evening... just for the two of us," Liara said idly, but with a hint of promise.

"Mhm, yes," Morgan nodded distractedly, trying her best to ignore the tone of Liara's voice. Much as they loved their child, Lita had on countless occasions interrupted their amorous fun and games back on Thessia, inadvertently causing some stress and frustration for her parents. With Lita back on Thessia with Aethyta, the distractions were completely removed and their sex drive had returned with such vengeance that Morgan felt it was actually more of a sex overdrive. Sometimes it took only an innocently spoken word by Liara, the way she looked at Morgan or a sudden movement, to ignite the spike of need in her, and Liara felt exactly the same if the past few nights were to be taken as any evidence.

Because of how much they had gone through together already, Shepard also now and then tended to forget that Liara was still a very young maiden, and despite her more serious disposition compared to other asari of her age, very much welcomed regular sexual activities, which was something that Morgan was all too happy to participate in. However, she did not necessarily want Shiala returning from her shopping trip and finding her and Liara writhing naked on the carpeted floor, in the bed or pressed firmly against the wall, with Liara's legs wrapped around her waist. _Damn it, now I'm doing it to myself!_ Morgan cursed silently, shaking her head to wave the mental images away, with relief noticing that Liara had retreated to watch the Citadel News Network while sitting in one of the comfy chairs nearby.

Shepard had just taken the breakfast tray away and finished dressing, fastening the last button on her leather jacket, when Shiala reappeared in the apartment, casually putting two large bags with her purchases in the corner, Liara and Shepard pointedly making sure to ignore them for now. Morgan only noticed that the bags were printed with Morlan's broadly grinning face which seemed to be saying 'There's a sucker born every minute, and you're right on time!'.

Ten minutes or so later, Shepard was sitting side by side with Liara in the speeding skycar, steered by Shiala, Morgan checking on the location of the tea shop that Karin had given her, passing the address to their asari driver. The small establishment was ran by a human, by his appearance Shepard figured the wizened old man's ancestors probably hailed from India or somewhere in that region. Considering that this was a _tea_ shop, Morgan thought it was an encouraging sign.

It was not difficult to notice Dr. Karin Chakwas, the small establishment only held four tables to serve visitors, and only two of them were actually occupied at the time. It was, however, surprising to find that Karin was meeting them alone, Shepard had understood that Chloe Michel would be joining them as well.

"Please accept heartfelt apologies from Chloe," Karin said, having hugged tightly both Shepard and Liara. "She truly wanted to meet you, but then she got an urgent message from her mysterious paramour, asking her out and she could not refuse... ah, to be young and in love!"

"Mysterious paramour, huh?" Shepard chuckled. "Any idea who it might be?"

"She is being very tightlipped about the whole thing," Dr. Chakwas admitted reluctantly, acknowledging her defeat in coaxing more information from her close friend and business partner. "I only know that he's a turian."

"Dr. Michel does have some fascination with turians, it seems consistent with her attraction towards Garrus," Liara nodded, watching as Karin poured them both some tea from the pot she had ordered earlier. She gave an experimental sniff of the sweet aroma, nodding approvingly before taking a small sip, immediately breaking into a delighted smile.

"I'm sure you will discover her secrets in time, Karin," Shepard smiled. "How is your clinic doing? Are you happy there? You did say that you much preferred to serve on ships... I was surprised that you even accepted Chloe's offer, surprised, but pleased."

"To be honest with you, Shepard, I have enjoyed it far more than I expected myself to," Chakwas admitted. "Perhaps it is me getting on in years... perhaps it is the experience of Rannoch... but I feel as if something has changed, and for now I feel content working with Chloe in our clinic. It has been very enjoyable and rewarding."

"We are very happy to hear it, Karin," Liara said happily, reaching out to pour herself more tea, having already finished the first cup.

"Are you keeping in touch with our people here on the Citadel?" Morgan asked. "I've met some of our old friends, but there are still some we haven't heard of."

"Oh yes, I meet the others regularly. Admiral-... I'm sorry, Councilor Hackett calls me regularly, and we have dinner together at least twice every month. The poor man has such challenges to face in his new post, I hope it does him well to sometimes unburden himself to someone. And they do say that we doctors are good listeners."

"Yes, I spoke with Steven yesterday," Morgan nodded. "I might have a solution for at least one of his problems... uh, sorry, I think that's classified, though," she added hastily, sensing Karin's questioning look.

"Fair enough, Shepard," Chakwas said, calling the proprietor of the shop over to order another pot, seeing that Liara was determined to finish the first one off all by herself, completely enamored with the flowery taste. "What about Jeff, is it safe to mention his name to you?"

"Of course," Morgan replied, a little bitterly. "I know he's still serving on the Normandy. How is he doing?"

"I won't deny, it's been a struggle," Karin sighed. "He is still very conflicted with what happened between you two, he goes through periods where he is being crushed by guilt over what he did, then something happens, and he begins to blame you again... it's a vicious circle. I think it would help him if he knew that you forgive him."

"Yes, I'm going to deal with that... soon," Morgan said unhappily. This particular vacation was supposed to be all about happiness, relaxation and sexy times with Liara, she didn't particularly wish to drag up these old ghosts that stood between her and Joker. _I'm going to be back on the Normandy soon anyway... I'll deal with it then, surely a few weeks here and there won't matter, _she then decided, knowing that she was being cowardly, and thus not feeling much better.

"What of the others?" Liara asked, wanting to distract the lingering gloominess. "Lieutenant Cortez is still posted on the Normandy, yes?"

"Yes, such a wonderful young man, I am very pleased that he seems to be so happy and radiant these days," the shadow of unhappiness instantly cleared from the face of Karin Chakwas. "He has found a regular partner, an Alliance engineer, and they have been together for three years now. He tends to stop by the clinic now and then and brings me flowers and candy for every birthday. Such a lovely young man, as I said."

"Yeah, he's really just a... nice guy. Doc, it's like you once said about Jenkins... it's people like him that make the Alliance great," Shepard smiled. "I think it applies to Steve perfectly."

"Indeed. Oh, and I have not even mentioned Ken and Gabby yet," Karin said, shaking her head as if to reprimand herself for forgetting. "It was my pleasure to deliver Gabriella's baby three years ago, and I'm happy to say that she's pregnant again."

"I imagine she has trained Mr. Donnelly into an exemplary bondmate by this time," Liara remarked with a grin.

"Exemplary husband, but yes, you are right," Chakwas chuckled. "Here, I should have several pictures of them together," she said, fiddling with her omni-tool for a bit until finding the relevant images. "Well... actually I have several hundred of images... there's something about young parents and compulsive need to exchange baby pictures," she added meaningfully, causing Shepard and Liara to share a guilty look.

"Now, that is a cute baby," Shepard admitted, having stared for a while at the first of the pictures that Karin brought up. "Not nearly as cute as Lita, but still cute." She couldn't stop herself from smiling as Karin continued to show her more and more pictures with Gabby holding her child, looking radiant and beautiful, Ken posturing proud like a protective peacock over them.

"I have noticed quite a few humans wearing garments like Gabby has on," Liara remarked, making Shepard chuckle.

"Yeah, I noticed she's very fond of short skirts when not wearing a uniform... but she does have very nice legs to pull it off," Morgan grinned. "How come the asari don't have something like that? Or you had and it just went out of fashion? I mean, you do have the legs for it."

"No, the asari people are too dignified to wear something with the sole purpose to titillate others," Liara replied with faked haughtiness. "We are not so shallow as to form our relationships based on physical attraction."

"So that outfit that you put on last evening... that wasn't very dignified, now was it?"

"That was because you asked me to put it on, which only serves to show which one of us is shallow, Shepard," Liara huffed, then bursting into giggles as Morgan gave a despondent sigh.

"See what kind of abuse I have to contend with every day?" Morgan turned to Karin, the good doctor busy wiping the tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes.

Suddenly, another voice rose over the table as someone approached them. "Hey Shepard, Liara!" Kasumi almost bounced up to them, looking surprised to notice Karin as well. "Dr. Chakwas! So good to see you too!"

"Ah, Kasumi," Chakwas smiled up at the master thief, pulling up a chair for her and urging the woman to sit down and pour herself some tea. "I never did thank you properly for those supplies of cipoxidine that just mysteriously showed up in our clinic overnight."

"I am sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Doc," Kasumi chuckled, delicately taking a sip of her tea.

"Of course... but you needn't have bothered, we are well stocked and can afford everything ourselves," Chakwas admonished the young woman.

"Hey, it's not like I stole them," Kasumi replied defensively. "I was with Jondum when he went to retrieve some intel from a destroyed salarian frigate, drifting lost in space. Figured I'd raid their medbay for something useful."

"Can't fault Kasumi for doing that, I think it was the right call," Shepard nodded approvingly, looking at Chakwas, Karin having to admit defeat, thanking Kasumi again, before checking her chrono and realizing that she should shortly rush back to the clinic to cover for Dr. Michel. The last few minutes together were spent by Karin Chakwas interrogating them about their life in Thessia, showing keen interest to find out how Shepard was coping with the cultural differences, as well as asking at length about Lita and the various habits the baby was developing.

After Karin had left them to hurry back to the clinic, Kasumi wasted no time to jump Shepard with a direct question. "Alright, Shep, what's up?" she asked. "You wouldn't have just asked to see me alone unless you had something in mind. Nothing good, most likely!"

"Actually, I think it's something excellent, Kasumi," Shepard grinned. "I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to offer for you! I have found employment perfectly suited for you, you make your own hours, the pay is stellar, and you have the license to shoot anyone that gets in your way."

"I'm not sure that's exactly accurate, Morgan," Liara intervened.

"Shush, I'm making a sales pitch here!" Morgan hissed back at her bondmate.

"Ha ha, that's very funny, Shepard," Kasumi glared at her. "I've been suckered by you twice now. Yes, I know, fool me twice, shame on me... but that was the last time I'm getting recruited by you, Shep!"

"Hey, I can't lure you in to fight Reapers anymore, because they're all dead," Morgan shrugged. "Now, stop being ridiculous and just listen to what I have to say." Grumbling, Kasumi dropped her protestations and assumed a more serious expression. "I spoke with Hackett yesterday. He's desperate to have more human Spectres. I... dropped your name."

"You... you did what?" Kasumi gasped.

"I dropped your name, and Hackett said he wanted you for Spectres," Morgan said. "I'm sure you know all about Spectre perks from Bau, right?" Kasumi nodded eagerly at that. "You could end up working with him on some missions officially, that would be fun, right?"

"Hmm... it's tempting..." Kasumi relented a little bit. "I'll need to think about it some more..."

"Hackett wants Miranda too," Shepard decided to drop the bomb. "Wouldn't it be awesome to work together with Miri again?"

"Yes! Oh... wow, he really wants her too?" the petite thief seemed a little overwhelmed now. "Damn it, Shep... you're making one hell of a pitch... so what did Miri say?"

"Eh... I haven't quite gotten around to speaking with her just yet," Morgan shrugged, then smiling optimistically. "But I'm sure she'll agree. Especially if you come along with me and tell her that you're joining up and then we both convince her how much fun it will be to work together again, traversing the galaxy, fighting the bad guys and looking cooler than Blasto while doing so."

Kasumi turned to Liara, giving the asari a disbelieving stare. "How does she talk me into these things, Liara?" she asked, a little desperately, Liara's only reply being a smile and a shrug. Kasumi could only shake her head at that, starting to laugh, Morgan and Liara exchanging amused stares before breaking into laughter as well.

* * *

"Liara?" Morgan whispered, as the two of them rested naked in each other's arms on top of the sheets, neither bothering to cover themselves, not feeling nearly exhausted enough to call it quits for the evening.

"Mhm, yes, Morgan?" the asari purred, nuzzling against her in a highly distracting manner.

"Are you really fine with me going to Khar'shan?" she asked softly. Morgan had broken the news earlier during the dinner, and Liara hadn't appeared particularly surprised. She hadn't blown up about it either, in fact, she seemed to be taking it in stride, more so than Morgan herself, but Shepard still couldn't be sure whether Liara's mild reaction wasn't simply because they were in a public place and she didn't want to start some drama in the open.

"Well, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little worried, it is a very volatile situation in a hostile location," Liara replied earnestly. "I trust that our friend the Shadow Broker will be able to give us some intel that you will find helpful. And... there is one more thing that you could do that would make me feel more at ease."

"Anything for you, my lovely Blue," Shepard said, bowing her head a little, planting a few tender and distracting kisses along Liara's neck.

"I know this is the kind of reconnaissance mission that a Spectre usually undertakes alone, but-"

"Liara, forget it, I am definitely NOT taking you along-"

"Not me, silly," Liara chided softly. "I want you to take Shiala with you. She is very skilled and experienced, and she is sworn to protect us both with her life. You will not regret it, I promise... and it would make me feel so much better."

Morgan was quiet for a moment, thinking. And the more she thought, the more the idea started to actually appeal to her. Shiala was, like Liara said, skilled, experienced and trustworthy, and given that she didn't know most of the new Normandy squad, she began to feel that having at least someone friendly like Shiala alongside would be a good idea. _Besides, I know I can always trust her to watch my back on ground missions, if we're going to see any action._

"Very well, I'll take Shiala. It was an excellent suggestion," Morgan finally agreed, immediately finding herself being kissed more passionately, eagerly responding. "I'm just... very impressed... and slightly disbelieving that you're not putting up more protests about the whole thing," she remarked a while later, when Liara's kisses became less frantic, allowing her to speak.

"Shepard, this is what you do, what you are, and the reason I fell in love with you," Liara said quietly. "You go out there and you solve problems... and I do not think I should try to change you into something you are not. That's... just not what loving someone is all about."

"I will try my best to react the same way, should you ever want to go back to your scientific pursuits, love," Morgan replied, cradling Liara slowly. "You're right... I don't want either of us to feel caged and restrained in our relationship. And I know you will never make me feel neglected... your awesome mind reading skills won't let us fall into that trap, anyway."

"I will make sure of it," Liara promised. "I am constantly astounded that so many humans assume that selfishness and possessiveness are natural components to love. It pains me to know that someone in the galaxy would think and accept this as normal... I simply cannot comprehend such reasoning. I understand where it comes from, though... from the fear that this wonderful gift of love might be somehow taken from them. Morgan... every time we meld, I have tried to reassure you that no matter what happens, that is something that you never need fearing. I will never stop loving you... you know that, don't you?"

"I... I do," Morgan breathed out, feeling a tear escaping the corner of her eye and rolling down her cheek, following Liara's earnest words. And she found that she agreed with every single word that her bondmate had spoken, there was this deeply rooted belief stretching to the very depths of her soul, strong and unshakable, she simply knew that Liara would never leave her, never forsake her for someone else or stop loving her. Because of the feelings passed through their bond, and everything that they had gone through together, Morgan knew she had been freed of this fear that Liara spoke of. Liara was truly her one constant in this galaxy, and Morgan embraced her even tighter, starting to kiss the asari deeply. "I love you too, Liara... if it even needs to be said, anymore..."

"Perhaps not... but it's still nice to hear now and then," Liara laughed in-between the kisses. They broke off a while later, resuming idle cuddling, until at some point Morgan caught the asari staring at something. A small box stood placed on the nightstand, illuminated by the artificial lights of the Presidium outside, Morlan's happy face on the side of the cardboard. "So, Shepard... are you feeling brave?" Liara asked in a sultry voice.

"Uh... maybe?" Morgan managed, feeling thankful for the darkness of the room so that Liara could not see how furiously she was blushing from the mere thought about the contents of that particular box.

"We didn't just spend over fifty thousand credits to simply leave it standing there unpacked," Liara whispered, gently nibbling on her earlobe. "You want to use it, Morgan... I know you want to..."

"...why do you even think... that I should be the one making use of it..." Morgan protested weakly.

"My dear Shepard... I am but a lowly and helpless scientist, while you are the hero who saved the galaxy," Liara spoke seductively, again assuming her innocent and extremely arousing voice. "I want you to take me, I want to feel you move over me, to know your strength..."

Shepard let out the breath she had been holding for what felt like an eternity. "Gods, Liara... you sure do not play fair..." she sighed, reaching out to pick up the box.


	9. Ode To Asari Superiority

**Chapter 9 - Ode To Asari Superiority**

_Year 2191 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

"Mistress Liara? Shepard?" Shiala's voice echoed through the Presidium apartment that was assigned for Liara and Shepard to use during their stay on the Citadel. "Mistress Liara, are you alright?" the asari commando called out once more, then stepping further into the apartment, looking around cautiously, then grinning broadly as she noticed the two bodies collapsed in a boneless pile under the blankets, slowly beginning to stir. "Mistress Liara! Shepard!" she tried once more, finally succeeding at awakening the pair. "I thought you had something scheduled for today... I was beginning to get worried."

"Oh, Shiala... you're back already?" Shepard groaned tiredly, not bothering to look up.

"Already?" Shiala blinked. "I've been back for at least ten hours now!"

"...did you have a good time, Shiala?" Liara managed, rearing her head to stare at the asari commando with still slightly glazed eyes.

"Yes, it was most enjoyable... it is such a shame that she is leaving tomorrow. Though, it would appear that you have also spent the night in a highly interesting way, Mistress Liara," Shiala chuckled, prodding the empty box from Morlan's 'famous shop', discarded next to the bed. "I see that you have made use of the recent purchase..."

"Please... Liara can you order her to never again bring that item up in any conversation?" Shepard begged desperately, her face having turned to a worrying shade of red from the mere memories of the previous night. "Let's just... never talk of it for as long as we live!"

"As you wish, Shepard," Liara purred, stretching under the blankets, then snuggling closer to Morgan again and whispering something that sounded like 'best possible use of fifty five thousand credits'.

"That good, hmm?" Shiala couldn't stop grinning."Very well, it will not be mentioned again. However, I thought you might wish to know that it is almost two o'clock in the afternoon and you have missed the breakfast, the lunch and are in danger of missing the dinner as well."

"It's that late?" Shepard gasped. "Yes... we should probably get up and do something... now, if I could only remember how to walk..."

"I believe you use your legs, Shepard," Shiala laughed.

"Yes, but I feel as if they have become detached from my hips..." Morgan groaned, rolling around in the bed and trying to push herself up, failing miserably.

"Shiala, could you be so kind as to get me a packet of medi-gel and then give us a little privacy?" Liara asked, more seriously now, Shiala understanding and obeying immediately, smiling as she left the pair alone to try and get into shape.

"Geez, that was embarrassing," Shepard moaned, still struggling to get up. "Good thing that Shiala is not a blabbermouth. At least I hope she isn't."

"No, she will keep it to herself," Liara agreed, running her hand along Morgan's spine in a slightly distracting way, tracing the slightly sore scratch marks on Shepard's back. "I must confess growing envious of your Cerberus implants. I remember your back being a mess when we finally retired last night, and now there's nothing left save for a few faint red lines."

"Well, I can still feel them a bit, but it's... rather nice kind of pain... if that makes any sense," Morgan chuckled, regarding her bondmate with a fond stare. "It's funny, but those implants never heal anything quite completely, they always seem to leave at least some lingering soreness for the body itself to deal with. It's like they're saying 'We did all the hard work, but you you deserve to suffer a little bit as well, human! Mwa-ha-ha!'"

"I suspect that was not a certified scientific explanation, Morgan," Liara laughed, then wincing a little, feeling sore all over as well.

"Probably not. But hey, I actually don't care how the strange alien tech inside me does it's magic. As long as it's working properly, I'm a happy camper," Morgan grinned, before mustering all her strength and pulling herself up from the blankets, remaining sitting on the edge of the bed, every muscle in her body feeling sore and screaming at her to just get back to the bed and stay there for the next week.

"Ah... by the way, Morgan, I would advise you to find something with a high neckline to wear when we go out later tonight," Liara remarked with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Oh... right," Morgan smiled, then wincing a little as she rubbed the sore spots on her neck. "I'm just not sure I have anything like that... in fact, I'm pretty sure I don't. Hey... except that asari robe I was wearing on Thessia, that would work!"

"Wearing an asari robe like that in public... that would send a very... interesting message," Liara said, looking a little uncertain. "If you are not worried about stirring more controversy back on Earth, then I certainly am not opposed to the idea... you look very good in it."

"I hadn't even considered the implications," Morgan confessed, pushing herself off the bed and taking a few slow steps as her body violently complained about being forced to move. "To be honest, now I'm only even more motivated to wear something so potentially scandalous!"

"Perhaps I should wear human clothing to compensate," Liara mused, then wincing as she rubbed the purple marks all over her neck. "On the other hand, that's not really an option..." She turned a little away in the bed, busying herself with the packet of medi-gel, making Morgan stare at her worriedly.

"Are you hurt? Did I injure you?" she breathed out, feeling horrible from the mere thought of having possibly caused Liara pain.

"It is nothing serious, do not worry," Liara replied, turning back to look at her with a reassuring smile. "But it does feel like there are bruises on top of bruises all over my hips... it's going to make moving around a little... interesting and challenging!"

"We probably shouldn't have gotten carried away like that," Morgan remarked, though her voice didn't sound very regretful as she started to browse through the cabinet stuffed with their clothes, until she found the perfectly form fitting robes she had grown so fond of lately, a thoughtful gift from her amazing father-in-law.

"Well, it was hard not to get carried away," Liara smiled slowly, continuing to apply a thin layer of medi-gel to the countless sore spots on her body. "I am sure that we will exercise better judgment in the future. Oh, by the way, Morgan..." she said, looking at Shepard, wordlessly begging her to approach after Morgan had slipped into her robe, covering herself. "If you could just help me by pulling me out of the bed..."

Shepard merely chuckled as she approached the bed, her muscles slowly getting a little more comfortable with her movements. She reached out, taking Liara's hands in hers and pulling the asari up, Liara's delightfully nude shape ending pressed tightly against her, as the asari's breath quickened, no doubt also feeling sore and pained from the sudden movement, now trying to remain standing on her own. "I... think I will be okay now, Morgan... you can let go of me..." she said quietly. Morgan most certainly did not feel like letting go, but knowing that they would both regret it later if she kept holding Liara, she reluctantly allowed her bondmate to move away, making a few tentative steps, before she bent down to gather her scattered clothing.

In the end, they decided to simply send Shiala out to pick up a takeaway dinner from a nearby restaurant. Meanwhile, Morgan sent a message to Miranda and postponed their meeting in the evening by an hour, just to give herself and Liara a bit more time to recover. With surprisingly delicious drell takeaway fare warming their bellies and after warm showers wisely taken separately, Liara had convinced Shepard to take Shiala up on her offer to give them both relaxing massages and afterwards Morgan was forced to concede that the experienced commando hadn't been simply boasting about her skill. When the skycar piloted by Shiala took off from their Presidium apartment building a quarter past six, both Shepard and Liara felt fresh and rejuvenated, diametrically opposite to their zombie-like states after waking up several hours ago.

When they arrived at The Happy Hanar, however, Shepard and Liara ended up ambushed the very moment they stepped out of their skycar. "Commander Shepard! A word for our viewers, if you please!" the olive skinned bloodsucker of a reporter pounced on them swiftly, before Shiala had even gotten out of the skycar. Morgan remarked immediately that the reporter was steadfastly using her old Alliance rank, on the purpose of being insulting. "Just a few questions, Commander! This is Khalisah al-Jilani, for the Westerlund News."

"After all these years, I'm well aware of who you are, miss Jilani," Shepard said coolly, nodding to Shiala as if to say that she had the situation under control.

"Our sources claim that you spent several hours in various meetings with the Council two days ago," al-Jilani plowed straight on. "Does that mean you will be returning to work soon, Commander? We are interested in hearing what sort of tasks the Council has lined up for its most famous Spectre."

"You know perfectly well that my Spectre work is off limits for discussion," Shepard simply shrugged and refused to elaborate.

"Commander, there is a growing concern about the rapid krogan expansion. Our viewers worry that the krogan will soon demand more and more systems to settle," al-Jilani continued, undeterred. "The question of whether curing the genophage was the right decision continues to submerge... what are your thoughts, Shepard? Do you honestly believe that we would have been unable to defeat the Reapers without the help of the krogan?"

"Well, I don't know about that, Khalisah," Shepard replied in a mocking tone. "I just know that without the krogan help, the turians would have never been able to stage the Miracle of Palaven on their own. This saved millions of turians from indoctrination and death, and allowed them together with the krogan aid in the evacuation of Thessia, saving millions of asari. And their presence on Earth probably saved a lot of humans, too... though, you probably want to spin this to show that I only cared about the turians and the asari, and did not care about my own people one bit, right?"

"Your actions alone seem to condemn you loudly enough, Shepard," al-Jilani smirked. "Living on Thessia with your girlfriend, forsaking Earth..." She looked critically over Shepard's outfit, Morgan wincing inwardly a little, remembering Liara's earlier warning that someone might find it just a bit scandalous. "Interesting choice of clothing, too..."

"Yes, you can probably make the claim that I have practically become half-asari already while living on Thessia," Shepard smirked, pulling the slightly startled Liara towards her and kissing her bondmate on the cheek in front of the recording drones. "I'm sure this will properly incite your xenophobic audience... and now, get the fuck out of here, al-Jilani, or we'll have to reenact our first meeting from eight years ago."

"With pleasure, Commander," Khalisah smiled broadly, not even remotely insulted by Morgan's threats and attitude, looking very pleased with the material that Shepard had presented her with. "I can't thank you enough, Shepard, you've just given me the top story of the year! My ratings will be through the roof after this... so, thanks a lot!"

"Why did you have to goad them like that?" Liara told her quietly, looking a little disappointed with her behavior, which Morgan had to admit, was a little childish.

"Eh, it's not a big deal, love," she shrugged, greeting the hanar proprietor of the establishment as they moved to the table where Kasumi and Miranda already waited for them. "She doesn't have that many viewers, not outside the Sol System and most of them are xenophobic humans who loathe me to begin with, this isn't really going to make any difference in how they all feel about me. And I have to say... I don't really care."

"I wish you did care just a little bit," Liara sighed, shaking her head, but then dropping the issue, smile quickly blossoming on her lips as they sat down with Kasumi and Miranda.

"Problems, Shepard?" Miranda asked, once Morgan and Liara had joined them. "Was that Khalisah al-Jilani who ambushed you?"

"Yeah, it's not a big deal though, I just ended up giving her what she wanted," Morgan shrugged. "Bah... come to think of it, Hackett is probably going to chew me out a bit over that, insisting that even a Spectre needs positive public image. Didn't really think that one through... it's just too much fun to rant at al-Jilani and her ilk."

"And since you just mentioned Councilor Hackett..." Miranda spoke up.

Shepard immediately gave Kasumi an accusing glare. "Couldn't keep your tongue tied down, could you? Why am I not surprised?" she sighed.

"Sorry, Shep... I guess I just got carried away a bit," Kasumi confessed guiltily. "But hey, good news, I did your job for you already! Miri hasn't outright rejected the offer yet!"

"It is... tempting," Miranda admitted reluctantly. "I still have a whole lot of questions, which I suppose I would have to direct to the Councilor himself... some of the perks of the job would be very useful to have, though. I am a little worried that my past with Cerberus might be dragged out in the spotlight, and I would rather prefer to avoid that."

"Well, this is a very good opportunity to serve humanity, and that has always been a big thing for you," Shepard said. "And we would be working with a councilor who as we both know, truly wants all the best for our people. To be honest, Hackett probably needs us more than we need him, just to make sure that our people don't slip back to the same kind of insanity when Singh tried to take over."

Miranda nodded after a moment of pause. "Yes... that is another compelling argument." Another silent moment followed, as the raven-haired Australian deliberated something. "I would like to talk it over with Ori first, before I agree to anything. I need to know that she is supportive of whatever decision I take."

"I'm sure that nobody would fault you for doing that," Liara spoke up quickly. "By the way, where is Oriana? I was under the impression that she would be joining us this time."

"She was going to, but then you and Shepard postponed the meeting. And since Ori had something else scheduled for later, she had to bail out... seems like she's fallen quite hard for some asari," Miranda explained, not looking particularly pleased about her sister's choice, but likely not saying more out of respect for Liara. "Since we're leaving for Horizon tomorrow, she wanted to spend more time with her new... friend."

"Yes, those asari are wily and amazing that way," Morgan grinned, taking Liara's hand in hers and gallantly bringing it up to her lips for a chaste kiss, her bondmate letting out a girlish giggle, then blushing and anxiously looking around whether someone had taken notice. "What time are you leaving tomorrow, anyway?"

"Five in the afternoon from docking bay B13," Miranda replied quickly.

"We could come see you two off, at least then we would have a chance to briefly meet Oriana," Liara suggested, Morgan quickly nodding her approval.

"If you do that, I would have had a chance to discuss this Spectre matter with Ori before we leave, and I could give you my answer, Shepard," Miranda said, moving a little to the side as the hanar waiter arrived with their drinks, the former Cerberus operative looking slightly worried as the hanar dangerously juggled the mug of hot macchiato before placing it in front of her, amazingly without spilling anything.

"Morgan..." Liara began to speak ponderously, after they had both been for a while slowly sipping fruity and refreshing juice made from Thessian wild berries. "The human female in a red dress, at the table on the opposite end of the restaurant... the one sitting with her back towards us..."

"Yeah, what about her?" Shepard shrugged, not having paid much attention to the other patrons of The Happy Hanar until then.

"She just looks rather familiar don't you think? Isn't that-"

"Hey, wait a moment... I'm not sure I know her, but I do recognize her companion!" she exclaimed, having finally identified the male turian at the table, unsuccessfully trying to hide behind a carafe of water. "It's our old friend Councilor Asparagus!"

"By the goddess... so it is! And Shepard... I think I know who the woman is!" Liara gasped, quickly moving closer to Shepard and whispering in her ear.

"Oh... god, you're right! This is... just too good," Morgan snickered, getting up from the table, faced with questioning stares. "I'll just go exchange a few words with some old friends, be back real soon!" Grinning like a fool, Shepard strutted up to the table where Dr. Chloe Michel was busy blushing like a schoolgirl, while Councilor Sparatus tried to pretend that he was a potted plant or a wall ornament, hoping not to be noticed.

"Dr. Michel, I thought I recognized you!" Shepard exclaimed, grinning, Chloe nervously smiling back at her. "Just thought I'd stop by and greet my old friend. And... oh my, Councilor Sparatus, what a surprise!" she gasped, feigning surprise when she faced the turian.

"A pleasure to see you, Shepard," Dr. Michel eventually managed, Sparatus merely nodding stiffly back at her. "I... trust everything is well?"

_They are kind of cute, being so nervous and insecure about this... I probably shouldn't tease them too much. _"Sure, just enjoying myself with Liara and some old friends. This hanar place is lovely, isn't it? You come here often?" Michel and Sparatus exchanged more embarrassed stares. "Well, I just hope you're having a good time."

"We are... thank you, Shepard," Chloe finally seemed to have recomposed herself a bit, glancing back to the table where Liara, Kasumi and Miranda all sat, looking at them. It very much felt as if Michel was desperate to get Morgan to leave and return to her friends, so Shepard eventually decided to take pity on the poor doctor.

"That's good to hear, really good," Shepard nodded, turning towards Sparatus briefly. "Looks like the flowers and chocolate turned out to be a success, yes?"

"What about flowers and chocolate?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing Doc... just a codename for some recent Spectre mission from the good councilor," Morgan replied, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

"Shepard..." Sparatus managed, making slightly strangled noises. "Get lost... or your next Spectre mission might just take you beyond the Rim for the next decade or so!"

"Geez... so pushy!" Morgan rolled her eyes, laughing inwardly as she turned around to leave the embarrassed lovebirds and walk back towards her table, getting interrupted by the beep of her omni-tool during the brief walk. Her smile grew even wider as she quickly read the message, then hurrying back to share it with Liara. "Check this out, love," she said, holding the omni-tool up so that Liara could see the message, which read the following.

_'Shepard, _

_I want you and Liara tomorrow at six in the afternoon in my old apartment on Kithoi Ward. I trust you remember the address._

_And don't you fucking dare to be late, I won't be on the Citadel for too long and the last thing I want to do is waste my precious time waiting for you to drag your asses over here, got it? _

_Aria' _

Liara was beaming broadly having read the message, finding it impossible to hide her excitement. "Oh, the timing is perfect as well, we can go see Miranda and Oriana off, and then make it there in time," the asari said happily, making Kasumi and Miranda face them with inquisitive stares.

"Just going to visit some good friends we haven't seen for a while," Morgan quickly explained, not wanting to go into detail. This was something a blabbermouth like Kasumi definitely did not need to know about, or a day later everyone in the Council space would know that Aria slept with Tevos.

"Yes, it's been some time," Liara nodded eagerly. "I wonder what they're up to now..."

"Oh... I'm pretty sure we can imagine," Morgan laughed heartily, making Kasumi and Miranda stare at each other, before exchanging confused shrugs.

* * *

"Aria, please..." Tevos moaned softly, feeling her lover's hands expertly trace all over her burning frame, lingering just a little bit longer in the spots Aria knew were particularly sensitive for her. "Can't we... just talk for a bit?"

"Talk, what is there to talk about?" Aria growled, leaning closer and planting a sensual kiss, followed by a slightly sharper bite on the councilor's neck. "We can talk plenty with me being on Omega. And if you have discovered a way for me to fuck you over the QEC, I'd love to hear all about that."

"Don't give me that, Aria," Tevos' voice grew a little harsher as she pulled away slightly. "What you did to me just ten minutes ago wasn't 'fucking', don't even try to deny it."

The predatory expression in Aria's eyes was immediately replaced by something infinitely softer. "I know..." she admitted after a pause. "I still speak to you as if I was stuck on Omega, it is... difficult to adjust."

"At least you haven't fallen back into other patterns of old," Tevos said softly, brushing her thumb along Aria's lower lip, finding it immediately ensnared by Aria's sharp teeth, biting and sucking on it.

"The girls being there with me helps me retain my perspective," Aria confessed, having released Tevos' thumb. "And the QEC that lets us keep in touch as often as we'd like... I still can't believe you managed to pull that off! You are one extremely corrupt councilor, Tevos T'Naori... what would the Thessian taxpayers say if they knew just where their credits went?" she asked teasingly, pulling Tevos closer to her again.

"Ah... I don't care," Tevos breathed deeply, feeling Aria's heated skin brushing against hers, as the Pirate Queen gave her hands a free reign again, further enflaming the frustrated councilor. "They can go and jump off the Citadel if they disagree..."

"Oh... I love it when you talk dirty, my corrupt little councilor," Aria said, her own arousal picking up dramatically from both the physical contact and the voice of her lover, the Pirate Queen beginning to lick and kiss Tevos' neck as she spoke. "So... I keep hearing the rumors that you have not sought relief with another while I was gone... it pleases me, my love. It pleases me very much."

"Funny... I keep hearing the same rumor about you..." Tevos squirmed from Aria's touch, starting to rake her nails along her lover's spine.

"But there must be at least someone you find... interesting..." Aria drawled, easing her touch distractedly, Tevos finding the slight denial frustrating as she let out a needy whimper. "It would be most unwise to withhold information from me, my dear councilor..."

"Well... perhaps I could think of someone..." Tevos confessed in a shuddering voice. "But... she would deny me, and even if she consented..." she closed her eyes, trying to reach out and pull Aria closer, but the Pirate Queen seized her hands and pinned her down on the bed, not allowing Tevos to even move. "Aria... the thoughts of you occupy my mind so much... the thought of giving and receiving pleasure with another... the pain such thoughts cause me is greater than anything I have ever experienced... it lashes me to the very core of my being... the touch of another right now would bring me no pleasure, only guilt and remorse..."

Something seemed to shift behind Aria's eyes, a myriad of emotions that set Tevos on fire, and then it was more than just Aria's intense stare enflaming her, the Pirate Queen releasing the councilor's arms and beginning to kiss her deeply, without any restraint, primal and sensual act that left them both breathless when they separated some time later. "I stare at the new dancers in the Afterlife, shaking their asses at me and hoping to curry my favor... and I can only feel the same way you described," Aria confessed, making Tevos' literally twitch with intense feelings of love and adoration, beginning to kiss her again.

"Easy there now, love," Aria chuckled, breaking off the kiss. "I thought you said you wanted to... talk?"

Tevos gave a low and dangerous growl in reply. "That was then... now I just want you to shut up and stop talking..."

"But there's so much we should talk about, my dear councilor..." Aria teased. "For example, our Ilium plans... I need to be sure you are still alright with inviting Shepard and Liara along..." At that, they both turned to look at the two small white boxes resting on the nightstand beside their bed.

"Yes, I would love to have them along, should they accept the invitation. Now, Aria... please... don't make me beg," Tevos managed, but despite her words, every fiber of her being was already begging Aria to continue with her caresses.

"Aria, please... what?" the Pirate Queen teased, feeling the subtle prodding of Tevos' mind encroaching upon her consciousness, as her desperate and frustrated lover sought to initiate a shallow meld, and after a brief resistance, Aria finally allowed her in.

_'I need you, Aria... fuck me, make love to me, I don't care how you call it... but I need you... now.' _

Tevos' extreme arousal mingling with her own immediately spurred Aria into action to satisfy her suffering lover. _'I'm not even sure I know how to fuck you anymore, love...' _she sent across their rapidly deepening meld, full of intense longing and desperate need. _'I only know how to make love to you...'_


	10. An Evening Amongst Friends

**Chapter 10 - An Evening Amongst Friends**

_Year 2191 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

On the afternoon of the next day, Shepard and Liara decided to grab a shuttle from the public transport terminal to get to the docking bay B13 to say goodbyes to Miranda and Oriana, insisting that Shiala makes use of their skycar. The commando's new human girlfriend was apparently departing at a similar time, but the real reason for letting Shiala use the skycar was that Morgan and Liara didn't want the commando to take them to Aria and Tevos, preferring to keep the circle of those who knew about the relationship between their asari friends as small as possible.

"Hey... Liara?" Morgan asked, slightly confused, as they got off the shuttle and were now walking by the parked skycars on the approach to the docking bay B13. Shepard was wearing her beloved leather pants, but had forsaken the leather trenchcoat, because she did not want to make Aria think that she was copying the asari's style. Instead, she had procured a nicely form fitting white sweater with a high turtleneck, just in case someone might be able to spot the hickeys Liara had generously graced her with.

"Yes, Morgan, what is it?" Liara stopped to look back at her, unsure of what had caused Shepard to hesitate.

"Well... isn't this our skycar?" she pointed at one of the vehicles, then checking the registration number with the information from the rental company on her omni-tool. "Yup... that's our skycar. Seems like Shiala's girlfriend is on the same flight as Miranda and Oriana. It really would have made sense to ask her from which docking bay they would be leaving, but apparently we fail at communications."

"It is... slightly amusing," Liara chuckled. "You know... I'm starting to get a funny feeling about this..." she remarked, as they began walking towards the docking bay, but refused to elaborate when Shepard looked at her.

They eventually managed to notice Miranda standing alone in one of the lounges of the docking bay, already having deposited their luggage for loading. With her outfit closely matching the one she had worn during their days of battling the Collectors, she was not exactly difficult to spot, and as Shepard and Liara approached her, they were surprised only that Miranda was once again not accompanied by her sister.

"I'll have Ori's head for this, I swear," Miranda hissed, seeing them both approaching. "I told her that Shepard and Liara wanted to meet her, but no... she still sneaks off to probably meet with that asari temptress of hers while I'm not looking..."

"I didn't think anyone could escape from your watchful gaze, Miranda," Shepard joked, a little amused.

"Well, at least I have news that I think you will like, Shepard," Miranda smiled. "I discussed the offer with Ori, and she wants me to take the Spectre job. She said she couldn't be more proud about having her sister being one of the famous Spectres, and one of the first humans to join their ranks... so I guess I don't have a choice now. I still want to discuss some matters with Councilor Hackett before I agree to anything... but for now, my answer is positive."

"Oh, that is great, I can't tell you how delighted I am," Morgan exclaimed, feeling happy and relieved. "Hackett will be glad too, I'm sure he'll be accommodating to whatever requests you might have."

"Should we go look for Oriana, perhaps?" Liara suggested, once Morgan had calmed down from having learned the exciting news. "The boarding starts in ten minutes, so we have a little bit of time."

Miranda and Shepard both nodded to that, starting to slowly walk through the massive docking bay, paying particular attention to checking the darkened corners of every passenger lounge for a pair of star-struck lovers seeking some last moments of privacy. It took maybe five minutes, not more, for their search to produce results, Miranda noticing the couple pressed against the wall in one of the lounges, the asari running her hand along the young human's thigh, Oriana's leg wrapped around her lover's hip, both oblivious and lost to the galaxy.

"Oriana Lawson!" Miranda exclaimed loudly, startling the pair who separated quickly, stunning Shepard when she noticed just who Oriana's asari lover was... and sending Liara into choking fits of laughter.

"Shiala!" Morgan finally managed. "You... and Oriana... oh god... did you know about this?" she glared at the highly amused Liara who could only shake her head in reply.

"Miranda!" Oriana exclaimed, blushing deeply. "Uh... Shepard... Dr. T'Soni... I'm sorry..."

"Mistress Liara? Shepard? What are you doing here?" Shiala blinked.

"Wait..." Miranda glared at Shepard. "You know this hussy?"

"This 'hussy' is the leader of the commandos of T'Soni household," Liara replied, now a little less amused about Miranda's words directed at Shiala.

"Wait... you know Shepard and Liara?" Oriana gave Shiala a confused look. "Why did you never even mentioned them?"

"Would that have changed the way you see me?" Shiala shrugged. Oriana shook her head. "Anyway... I meant to do that, but I guess it just slipped my mind. I was **very** distracted, you know." Oriana's blush deepened at that, while Miranda continued to quietly seethe.

"Shepard, if I found out that you or Liara set this seductress up to mess with my sister's head, I'm going to be very unhappy," Miranda hissed at them.

"I told you that she's very protective," Oriana leaned in closer to Shiala to whisper in her ear folds, the asari commando nodding as she merely grinned at the ineffective glares Miranda was sending her way.

"Alright, enough of this nonsense," Miranda then huffed, grabbing Oriana by the hand and trying to pull her away, her sister in turn not letting go of Shiala, pulling her along. "Ori, they are starting to board, we need to be off!" she admonished.

"Sure, just a moment, Miri," Oriana said, shaking her sister's grasp off and turning to embrace and kiss Shiala one more time. "You'll write, of course? And maybe come visit? Please?"

"I will write, I promise," Shiala nodded earnestly. "Glad to have made your acquaintance, Miranda," she then bowed to the older sister, just to enrage her further, much to Shepard and Liara's amusement, Miranda muttering something unintelligible in return as she began to pull Oriana with her towards the boarding ramp.

"Bye Shiala! I'll miss you!" Oriana continued to speak as Miranda was now unceremoniously dragging her away. "And bye Shepard and Liara! Sorry I didn't spend more time with you!"

Shepard, Liara and Shiala were busy waving the two sisters off, until they walked up the ramp and entered the ship. "I'm sorry about that," Shiala spoke up, once the Lawson sisters had disappeared from their view. "I honestly did not mean to anger your friend."

"That's quite alright, Shiala," Morgan smiled. "Watching Miranda rage like that is pretty damn funny."

"Do you plan to stay in contact with her?" Liara asked, looking at Shiala more seriously. "Oriana is a sweet girl, I would not wish to see her hurt."

"I will write, that does not take much of my time," Shiala said. "As for visiting... well, sadly I do not expect to have many opportunities for that."

Shepard and Liara exchanged quick glances, remembering their plans for Shiala and the Khar'shan mission. "Yes... I'm afraid that might be problematic..." Morgan remarked a little sadly, as they began their way back to the shuttle bay.

* * *

"Shepard, about damn time!" Morgan felt herself being pulled into the traditional asari greeting, holding hands with Aria as the Pirate Queen planted a kiss on her cheek, then repeating the same with Liara, who finally seemed perfectly at ease with this display of affection, Aria's antics no longer flustering her unlike all those years ago. "I thought you would never make it!" their hostess huffed, welcoming them inside, after they had finally finished all the hugging and kissing with Tevos, Rila and Falere.

"We're actually a few minutes early," Shepard grinned at Aria, happy to see their friend in a good if slightly overbearing mood, pouring her and Liara glasses of elassa and slipping them into their hands without even asking whether they wanted the drink or not.

"Are you two hungry?" Tevos asked, looking at Morgan and Liara, both shaking their heads quickly. "Very well, in that case, we can have dinner later. Truth be told, I would not mind simply talking and catching up with things to begin with."

"That would be lovely," Liara nodded, smiling as she turned to Aria. "You have been quite busy on Omega, or so I hear, Aria?"

"Yes, tell us just what you're up to, Aria," Shepard urged the reinstated Queen.

Aria shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "More or less the usual, cracking skulls and trying to keep order," she said. "Things have changed a little, though. I'm no longer even allowing docking on Omega to those who I know only arrive to cause trouble, I don't need insane murderers and madmen running amok on the station, when I'm trying to clean up the image a little bit. I've invested heavily in something akin to customs and security, to make sure that at least some of the troublemakers remain outside the gates. Of course, that doesn't sit well with some... even last month, some Eclipse captain decided that he'd take on the whole station in his fancy new frigate after I denied his docking request."

"What happened?" Liara asked.

"He found out all about the upgraded defense grid of the station... I really love it when they give me opportunities to use those cannons, bloody damn good show! Cerberus did me a huge favor there," she laughed heartily, raising her glass. "So here's to you, Cerberus bastards!"

"What about your whole positive PR campaign?" now it was Morgan's turn to ask. "I'm aware that you're buying stakes in some legit businesses, but I don't know much more than that."

"It's really quite simple, Shepard," Aria replied. "The eezo mines bring in a steady profit every month, and I'm using those credits along with my old savings to buy up some floundering companies on Thessia, Sur'Kesh, Earth, you name it... I don't even care what they do, I just want the brand name. Then I pull a few levers... speak to some people... and these companies suddenly decide to invest into some project on Omega."

"Hey... that's a pretty good plan, simple, but good... I like it," Morgan nodded.

"Yes, there's nothing quite like the news bulletin reporting that the Nashiri Adult Electronics have opened their new vibrator factory on Omega," Aria rolled her eyes to the laughter of everyone present. "I'm not sure there's much that is **not** produced on Omega now, we have everything from sex toys to personal hygiene products, furniture, a brewery and several confectioneries... yes, it all sounds unbearably mundane, but at least I still get to shoot some idiots now and then, so it's not all disgustingly civilized."

"But this means more work opportunities for the people of Omega, doesn't it?" Liara asked, looking at Aria approvingly.

"Yes... I suppose it does at that," the Pirate Queen shrugged again. "Actually, we are experiencing a shortage of workers, the Cerberus rule has left the station's population seriously depleted. And I don't just need anyone, we need qualified specialists to work in those ridiculous sex toy factories."

"It is an interesting change to see people reading about job opportunities on Omega, and actually giving the idea a good thought, instead of dismissing it outright," Tevos added, looking pleased. "Crime is down... well, compared to what it was... press is mostly positive and praising Omega's thriving economy and investment opportunities... the landscape is slowly beginning to change."

"Speaking about press... I can tolerate a few reporters now and then, but Tevos, I want you to make sure that the human bitch from Second Star Broadcasting never sets her foot on Omega ever again," Aria snarled angrily. "She actually thought I was going to sleep with her, I'm not sure who or what had given her the idea that I would fuck just anyone who dresses a little provocatively, but I came very close to simply throwing her into a varren pit."

"She will not bother you again... or I will throw her into a varren pit myself," Tevos promised, looking like she was grinding her teeth a little.

_It does seem to me that Aria is honoring the promise that she gave to Nyreen and the people of Omega..._ Morgan thought to herself. _I... I guess I had my doubts, but I'm very glad that Aria has been proving me wrong so far. She will never be a model citizen, prim and proper, but god knows I don't want her to be that, if I'm honest, I would not find her nearly as interesting then..._

"What about those ex-Cerberus people still on the station?" Liara asked, looking curious. "Have you removed all trace of them?"

"There were around eighty of them left, when I retook the reigns of Omega. My people are keeping tight tabs on them, but they appear completely harmless, having gone back to simple, mundane lives, now that the indoctrination effects have cleared," Aria explained. "There's something you need to see, though... I found it extremely amusing, myself," she said, activating her omni-tool and quickly locating a small clip of video footage, bringing it up on the screen to display it for everyone.

"Looks like a middle-aged, bearded human male working on a production line to wrap boxes of vibrators," Shepard spoke, having watched the recording, finding nothing particularly remarkable about it.

"Yes, there's really nothing interesting about this man at the first glance. Thomas Maurice, works a twelve hour shift every day to return to his tiny apartment in Kenzo District at the end of each mundane day, eat, play some extranet game for an hour or two before falling asleep and then repeating this dull cycle of existence over and over again," Aria said, then bringing up another image, this one of a middle-aged man standing proud in a Cerberus uniform. After a bit of squinting, Morgan was forced to admit that he did share some similarities with the man in the previous footage.

"Goddess... it's Admiral Oleg Petrovsky!" Liara gasped in realization. "He... he's working in one of your factories? I... can't believe it!"

"Of course, when my people had finally located him, I arrived to kill him... only to find this pathetic sight before me," Aria brought the footage up again. "The man who threw me off Omega and humiliated me is now working in a factory that I own, putting together sex toys... his dreams and ambitions completely wiped from his mind, a broken, empty shell of a man... and then I realized that I cannot kill him, for he is already dead... I decided that it would be more fitting to allow him to exist in such a state of hopelessness."

"That's... brilliant," Morgan agreed, just like Liara appearing a little astonished_. I would have thought that she would kill him for sure... but damn it, this kind of punishment is almost more cruel and fitting... it's like with the Patriarch before, but somehow even more humiliating._ As she was still thinking about Petrovsky and his fate, Rila and Falere returned from the kitchen, where they had been finishing some final upcoming dinner preparations. "And how do you find Omega, girls?" Morgan asked as the Ardat-Yakshi sisters joined them, choosing to sit on the carpet at Aria's feet like a pair of obedient and harmless kittens.

"It was frightening at first... so dark and gloomy," Falere admitted, exchanging a brief look with Rila before replying. "But I think we have slowly grown used to it. And the changes that Aria is making to the place... slowly, but we're starting to see the signs of that, too."

"Where are you two staying on Omega?" Liara inquired.

"Aria appropriated one of the nicest apartments in the Fumi District," now it was Rila's turn to speak. "We're staying there most of the time, it's very comfortable. Aria does not want us to visit her at the Afterlife, but she spends time with us every day."

"You know perfectly well why I do not want you coming to the club," Aria reminded Rila, even if the young Ardat-Yakshi had not sounded aggrieved when speaking.

"But we agree... the one or two times I've been there, I did not like that place at all," Rila actually shuddered from the memory. "The music was so loud and unpleasant, the overwhelming smells and the underdressed patrons... it was quite simply awful!" Falere was nodding vehemently in agreement with that statement.

"It is still better than being locked up at the monastery, though," the younger of the two sisters spoke up again. "And we are not prisoners there, we are free to wander around Omega, as long as we are accompanied by the three commandos Aria has assigned to us for protection. There's a lot to explore!"

"A necessary precaution... after all, it is still Omega," Aria said simply.

"I don't imagine there are a lot of inspiring views to capture for your paintings, Rila," Shepard remarked, smiling at the young asari.

"Oh... I would not say that, Shepard. Some of the sights are truly impressive, such as the eezo mines and those massive drills... frightening, yet amazing in their own special way," Rila replied. "I think Aria is right and Omega does have its charm... though it is not easy to discover and it does not reveal itself to everyone."

"She has an entire collection of drawings of Omega," Aria said. "I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She captures the essence of Omega perfectly. At some point, I will find an opportunity to put her work on display in some prominent place, it's the least I can do to give Rila the recognition she deserves." Rila was blushing deeply from the unexpected and overwhelming praise, almost starting to sniffle a bit.

"I'm very happy for you Rila, it's good that you have been able to continue the pursuit of your talents," Liara agreed happily, then turning towards the other sister. "And Falere, have you worked on any new musical pieces to delight us with?"

"I have worked on something, but we have not had the chance to practice together yet," Falere replied, looking up to where Tevos sat on the sofa and giving her a fond stare. "Aria is going to leave us on the Citadel for the next month, though, so we'll have a lot of time for rehearsing."

"Yes, and I cannot express how delighted I am for having this opportunity," Tevos beamed happily, reaching lower to affectionately squeeze Falere's shoulder, before putting her arms around Aria next to her and leaning in to tenderly and unashamedly kiss her. "And I am ever so thankful to you for allowing them to stay... I cannot wait for the day when we can all remain together without having to hide our love, but for now, we must all remain patient."

"That day is coming... I promise," Aria replied hoarsely, looking a little affected by the intense kiss.

"Now..." Tevos said, breaking away from Aria and looking at Shepard and Liara. "We still have quite a selection of musical delights to share with you, our esteemed guests... but the decision is yours, food or music?"

Liara and Shepard exchanged a quick glance, replying as one. "Music!"

* * *

Hours rushed by swiftly, listening to the enchanting performances by Tevos, Rila and Falere, then followed up with a highly enjoyable dinner prepared by the two sisters, consisting mostly of Earth cuisine in Shepard's honor. Afterwards, as the evening began to wind down, stretching towards the night, Rila and Falere wished them all goodnight and retired to their bedroom, leaving the four others to lounge on the two comfy sofas opposite to each other.

Watching Aria and Tevos idly cuddling on the other sofa, Shepard could not help but to be reminded of all the emotional experiences and visions that she had gone through while listening to the performance of the three asari, putting her under their spell with their beautiful music. Most of the time, it pulled her back to the years gone by, bringing up more and more forgotten memories of her childhood, but some of the musical pieces seemed to have a dramatically different effect.

One in particular had left her a little shaken, it had resonated with something she had thought of herself just recently, a vision of what she knew the future held for her. She saw the face of Councilor Hackett, like in a slide show quickly growing old through the years, his hair turning white and deep creases appearing in the sagging skin of his face, as he spoke to her about stepping down from his role of the Councilor... at which point, the vision changed, showing herself standing next to the old, retiring Hackett... Morgan was looking young and radiant, just as she was now... not having aged a single bit. She found the image very disorientating and difficult to process.

There were other images like that. Vibrant vision of herself standing next to an aging Garrus, barely being able to move, supported by his adopted turian son. Tali, moving around slowly with a walking cane, shaking as fits of coughing seized her body. Kasumi, stepping down from her Spectre position due to old age and slowly walking out of the Council Chambers. Shepard seeing herself standing before the final resting place of Karin Chakwas, holding a wreath of flowers. _This is what will happen, you know it,_ a voice seemed to be whispering to her. _You have been changed, and now you will have to witness this. Your friends will grow old and die, while you remain young and beautiful. You will outlive their children... and possibly their children's children..._

The visions shifted again, now showing her next to Liara, Tevos and Aria... years, decades, a century rolled by... and nothing changed. _This is what they have learned to cope with... to watch others pass on, while remaining ever beautiful... can you learn to deal with it? Can you become like them, almost a part-asari? You will have to... if you want to live like this and retain your sanity, without losing your mind to the grief as everyone and everything around you withers and dies. Embrace it... embrace everything that is asari, they way they think, feel and act... it is the only way you can cope... _

"Everything alright, Morgan?" Liara whispered to her, shaking Shepard out of her somber reflections and slightly startling her.

"Wha-... oh, yeah... just got carried away a bit," she recovered quickly, as Liara snuggled closer to her side. Morgan noticed that Tevos had settled to rest with her head in Aria's lap, the Pirate Queen idly caressing her crests and the councilor now and then making a delightful little purr, very alike to what Morgan would coax from Liara during similar tender ministrations.

"So, Aria..." Morgan spoke up a while later, eager to have something else to think about other than the recollections of her visions. "Didn't you at one point plan to purchase some property on Thessia as well?"

"I did, yes," Aria replied, her fingers never stopping to trace the outlines of Tevos' crest.

"Well? Why haven't you done so already?" Shepard continued to press.

"Who says I haven't?" Aria flashed her one of those insufferably smug grins. "It's a surprise. You'll find out all about it in due time."

"I can't stand it when you do that, Aria," Liara chuckled, but Aria's grin made it perfectly clear that she knew how irritating she was being, thoroughly enjoying frustrating the other pair.

"Might be a task for our Shadowy Broker friend to find that out," Morgan whispered to Liara, her bondmate nodding eagerly.

"Anyway, Shepard... I do have something for you and Liara," Aria then continued. "If you reach behind that sofa, you'll find a small white box. Take it."

Shepard sat up straight and peered behind the sofa, then reaching down to pick up the box Aria had referred to. Liara rose too, urged by curiosity, watching Shepard opening the box that contained a pair of multicolored ribbons. Morgan blinked at the sight, not sure what to think, but Liara's gasp made it clear that she recognized what these ribbons represented.

"Traditional bonding bracelets!" Liara exclaimed, giving Aria a slightly stunned look. "Aria... we can't just accept this... how did you even get them, they are rarely made nowadays!"

"Where I got them is unimportant," Aria shrugged, smiling thinly. "And I'm only giving them to you on one condition. I have a feeling that you two are not eager to have a proper bonding ceremony on Thessia right now, because of how much stir and attention it would cause. As for Tevos and myself... well, no one can predict how long we will have to wait. So, I've decided that we will do something about it before we can be bonded before the watchful eyes of the galaxy. I'm trying to set up a quiet little bonding ceremony on Ilium... very exclusive and secretive. Tevos and I spoke about it, and we decided that we would like to have you two joining us for a double bonding ceremony."

"What... seriously?" Shepard blinked, looking at the equally stunned Liara, at first uncertain what to reply, the love of her life already being her bondmate in Morgan's eyes. _This idea really should have come from me, not from Aria, but I didn't even know there was an option like this... I thought we'd have to wait for a while until the galaxy forgets just who we are and doesn't make a big fuss out of the whole deal! But I have to confess... this is something that I would love to do, if Liara is willing... _She stole a quick glance to the asari next to her, seeing Liara's eyes misting slightly. _Oh yes, she wants it, that much is perfectly clear._ "I think that's a 'yes', Aria... thank you, that was... an unexpected, but lovely offer," Morgan managed, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"Yes... thank you so much, both of you," Liara recovered to smile at the other couple, taking out one of the ribbons and trying out how it felt wrapped around her wrist, a single tear escaping her eye as she admired the formed bracelet. "So beautiful... I remember finding one exactly like this amongst my mother's belongings... she was so mad when I prodded her about it... but later that evening, I caught Benezia crying in her room..."

Shepard wrapped her arms around Liara, embracing her tightly, as the asari placed the ribbon back into the box, closing it gently. "Do you have a date set for the ceremony, Aria?" she asked of the Pirate Queen.

"Not yet, but it should take place roughly in six months," Aria replied. "And Shepard, keep quiet about it, alright? Also, we'll be bringing the girls with us, so I think it's only fair that you bring two guests as well, but no more."

"Hmm... Tali and Garrus?" Morgan asked, turning to Liara.

"Tali and Garrus," Liara nodded with conviction.

"I was afraid that you would choose to bring that pain in the ass turian," Aria sighed theatrically, continuing to idly stroke the councilor's crest, then bending down a little to reward Tevos with a lingering lick along the fringe of her crest that sent the other asari squirming and struggling not to gasp. "And with that, I think we're going to retire for the night... looks like Tevos is slowly getting in the mood..."

"Good idea, we'll be joining y-... uh, I mean, we'll follow your example shortly," Shepard said, blushing from her little faux pas.

Aria let out a sharp laugh, slapping Tevos lightly on her backside to urge the councilor towards the steps leading upstairs. "Thank you, Shepard," the Queen of Omega chuckled, as she followed her lover. "That slip of the tongue just really got me in the mood as well..."

* * *

_A/N: A note about my personal head-canon on asari bondings and why Shepard and Liara are not having a massive wedding back on Thessia. _

_First of all, Liara's age comes into the play again. A maiden of her age just isn't supposed to enter a permanent bond, and certainly not with her first and only sexual partner. This is very much against the spirit of a maiden's quest to find out more about herself before settling down. Now, Liara is certainly famous and influential enough to still go through with it, it's not illegal, __just that _ there is a massive social stigma attached to it, enough for it to create a lot of stir and increase attention and controversy, which they don't want. 

_And lastly, just the amount of attention it would bring to them, putting them even more under the scope of all the paparazzi of the galaxy, being in the news headlines... I think after everything they have gone through already, Morgan and Liara have spent more than enough time in the limelight and they would desperately try to escape such attention again if they could. _

_Anyway, those are my reasons and I'm sticking to them. :D _


	11. Road To Khar'shan

**Chapter 11 - Road To Khar'shan**

_Year 2191 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

"Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything?" Liara asked nervously, wringing her hands as she watched Shepard standing in front of the mirror and putting on the last pieces of her swanky new infiltration suit, it's shield generator and power cells greatly enhanced by geth upgrades, thoughtfully passed her way by Legion. "Should we perhaps go over the Shadow Broker intel one more time?"

"Liara... love," Morgan turned around, about to berate her bondmate for fussing too much, but the genuine helplessness and worry on Liara's face made it impossible to say what she had originally intended, instead sighing and giving in, smiling encouragingly. "I have everything packed, but if it will make you feel better, let's go over Feron's information one more time."

Shepard picked up the datapad that held the information that Shadow Broker had kindly put together for them. Feron had three agents operating in Kite's Nest, and one of them, a batarian comm specialist by the name of Marat, was located on Khar'shan. The datapad contained information about the agent's last known location, brief description of his current assignment and the encrypted comm channels they would have to use in order to get in touch with this Marat.

"I wish there was more, I still feel as if you were going in blind," Liara muttered unhappily. Even if the asari fiercely maintained that she supported Shepard's decision to undertake this mission, insisting firmly that Morgan goes ahead with the plan, as the day of departure neared, it became more and more difficult for Liara to keep her nervousness in check.

"Well, I'm guessing this Marat fellow has a plan," Shepard said, shrugging her shoulders. They had undertaken most of their missions during the Reaper War with even less intel, and somehow things always ended up better when they didn't have much of a plan as they were heading in. Having a well thought out plan always meant that it could and would go wrong. "Working through proxies with the krogan and batarian leadership to allow the last of the batarian civilians to escape the system, that's something I can get behind. Seems like a decent batarian for once."

"I don't think that Feron would have recruited someone he did not trust," Liara nodded. "I do hope that you can negotiate on their behalf... I know they have caused much pain to the galaxy, and to you personally, but... they do not deserve extinction. All life is sacred and the galaxy would be emptier for their loss."

"Yes... I suppose that is true," Morgan was all too happy to agree with that. _It would be good if I could do at least something decent for them after Aratoht... it wouldn't make up for it, but it would be a start. _"Seems like a lot of the civilians are making for Omega, but Aria's shutting the door on most of them... I can't really blame her, she can't take in so many batarians, the security will be overtaxed."

"At least they are still holding on to Lorek in Omega Nebula, so they can go there," Liara nodded. "Or Anhur in the Eagle Nebula. Perhaps they can even recover from this disaster and rebuild with time... should their leadership take all the right steps."

"If they really put the interests of their own people ahead of selfish need of revenge, feeling slighted by the rest of the galaxy, well, then that's alright with me-... ah, damn," Shepard cursed, getting interrupted by the beep of her omni-tool. She put the datapad away and read the message on the omni, sending a short reply. "Normandy is in orbit, love... Steve is coming down in the shuttle, I've got to go. He'll be here in fifteen."

"It is time already..." Liara said quietly, before throwing her arms around Morgan's neck and starting to kiss her passionately. "You remember your old promise, yes?"

"Of course I do, Blue," Morgan smiled. "I'm always coming back. Back to you, and the baby."

"Then let us go... we will see you off," Liara put on a brave smile and wiped away the traces of tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Together, they stepped out into the large courtyard of the T'Soni Estate, where they were met by Matriarch Aethyta, holding their child, passing Lita over to Liara as soon as they approached. Nearby, Shiala stood in her green commando armor, a footlocker at her feet, ready to leave with Shepard.

Morgan reached out and took Lita from Liara, cradling the babe in her arms, having to fight back tears as she bent down to kiss their child atop of her tiny crest. "Daddy's going to go away for a few days... maybe a week," she whispered, holding Lita gently against her chest. "You'll be strong for Mommy and behave, won't you? I know you will... you're as brave as your Mommy and Daddy."

"Daddy... coming back?" Lita sniffled, her tiny arms clasping at Morgan's armor.

"Of course Daddy is coming back... like I told Mommy, Daddy is always coming back," Morgan said softly, kissing Lita on her brow again, before passing her back to her mother. "You'll take good care of them, won't you?" she asked, turning to Aethyta now.

"I will, you just worry about getting back in one piece," Aethyta replied, giving her a warning glare. "Try not to get lost somewhere on Khar'shan and don't make me go looking for your sorry hide, Shepard... I'd be really pissed off if I had to go to the batarian space... never liked them, those pompous, hateful bag of dicks."

"I'm tempted to agree," Morgan chuckled, noticing a tiny speck in the sky growing larger and larger as the Kodiak shuttle slowly approached, settling down slowly in the courtyard. Moments later, Lieutenant Steve Cortez climbed out, smiling at Shepard and Liara, approaching to take closer look at the babe in Liara's arms.

"Shepard, Liara, good to see you both... and what a good looking kid you have there," Steve smiled at Lita, the little asari peering back, a little cautious not having seen a human male before. "Taking after both parents there, I see!"

"Good to see you too, Lieutenant Cortez," Liara said, looking a little more relieved upon seeing another of their old friends. "Lita, that's Uncle Steve," she told the babe. "Now be brave and say hello, he's an old friend of Mommy and Daddy." Lita decided not to be brave, and instead hid her face between Liara's breasts.

"Well, I was actually a very shy kid myself, and so was Liara, so don't read too much into that," Morgan grinned, then looking at Cortez. "Shall we go? We've said our farewells here, so let's not drag this out." Steve nodded at her, going back to the shuttle to raise the doors to the cargo room, while Shepard kissed both Liara and Lita one more time and followed Cortez to the shuttle, Shiala trailing after them.

"Hmm... Shepard, I thought I was just picking up you alone?" Steve asked, surprised, watching as Shiala got onto the shuttle with them.

"Last moment changes, sorry about that, Steve," Shepard replied nonchalantly. "Figured I might need a little backup in case things went haywire. This is Shiala," she introduced her asari companion. "And Shiala, this is Lieutenant Steve Cortez, an overall awesome guy."

Once the introductions were made, the Kodiak pulled up in the air, Shepard watching Liara waving frantically outside the shuttle window and shouting something to her, but she could not make out the words... and then it was already too late, the Kodiak rapidly gaining altitude, Cortez quickly bringing them back to the Normandy.

* * *

"Shiala! Cortez! Take good care of her, do you hear me!" Liara continued shouting even as the shuttle had grown to a barely discernible dot in the sky.

Aethyta walked up to her daughter with determined steps and took Lita away from her mother, then pulling Liara towards the nearby terrace. "Alright, she has left, you can stop holding it all inside, do you hear me?" she barked sharply at Liara, her daughter staring at her with wide eyes, as if not understanding. "Let go, now!"

Finally her father's words appeared to have penetrated Liara's brain, for she suddenly collapsed in one of the chairs on the terrace, almost missing it as her legs gave out under her. With her self-control relinquished, Liara looked like an unrecognizable mess, a bundle of nerves barely holding together.

"Here, drink this," Aethyta pressed a glass in her hand, helping Liara bring it to her lips. Liara forced herself into putting enough effort to swallow the concoction, something sweet and herbal, with a hint of alcohol.

"What was it?" she asked weakly, feeling a pleasant, stimulating heat starting to spread towards her body, making her suddenly feel more energetic and positively charged again.

"A tonic of my own invention," Aethyta replied proudly. "It'll give you just the boost you need right now. I have to say it, kid..." she gave Liara an impressed look. "The way you can keep all that touchy-feely shit buried deep down without collapsing... I never knew how to keep emotions bottled down like that, I just went out and found someone to either fight or fuck... the way you've been acting these past two weeks, that sort of control would have put even Benezia to shame."

"I... have had a lot of practice," Liara admitted, finding some of her strength returning, especially from the sight of Lita playing nearby, engaging in a boxing match with her elcor plushie.

"Yeah, the Ilium days. No kidding," Aethyta sighed. "Listen, you know that she's coming back, right?"

"Of course. These feelings have nothing to do with logic," Liara smiled weakly.

"True enough. But well, just to make sure you don't lapse into the sorry state you fell into while living on Ilium... I'm going to keep you and the kid," she pointed at the oblivious Lita, "occupied while Shepard gets back. We're going to go shopping, exploring, hiking and do whatever it takes to keep you from getting mopey... because if there's one thing that I can't stand is my own daughter being irritatingly brooding and depressed."

"Thanks, dad," Liara's smile broadened. "Morgan was right... you will be a big help for me..."

* * *

Morgan and Shiala were met in the docking bay by a small welcoming committee, Joker accompanied by a young man with the stripes of Alliance officer, introducing himself as Lieutenant-Commander McSorley, current CO of the Normandy. Shepard wasn't sure what she thought of this pasty skinned man with dull, listless eyes and blonde mop of unruly hair, his handshake was surprisingly soft and made her wonder whether it was indicative of the LC lacking a bit of spine. At least, he didn't seem to have a problem with accepting Shepard's authority for the duration of this mission, unlike...

"Ha-ha, Shepard... what is this?" Joker laughed, watching as Shiala got out of the shuttle behind her. "You already traded in your blue asari for a green one? Damn, that didn't last long!"

"Missed you too, you asshole," Morgan forced herself to reply amiably, despite wanting to smack him just a little bit. "Everything good here?"

"Yeah, been a bit boring, but I sense that's going to change," Joker replied, not even giving his CO a chance to speak, which further compounded Morgan's suspicions that McSorley did not command all that much respect from his crew. "So, Khar'shan, huh? You're the errand girl of which councilor currently?"

"Krogan," Shepard shrugged, deciding to humor Joker and his attitude. "I want the stealth drive engaged as we approach Khar'shan, I don't want anyone to know we're coming. We need to see what's really going on there, and that means running silent."

"Understood, Shepard," McSorley butted in hastily, giving a small glare to Joker. "Would you like to get settled on the ship? The XO quarters are free, but I was not aware you would be bringing anyone else," he looked at Shiala. "But since we are running with only a skeleton crew of thirteen there is plenty of room, finding acceptable quarters will not be an issue."

"I'm guessing the loft is occupied," Shepard remarked casually, feeling a little irritated when the LC nodded guiltily. _Damn, it just feels wrong that someone else is making use of the place where Liara and I shared so many wonderful and intimate experiences... especially someone who looks like some kind of paper-pushing git straight from the academy. Probably not his fault, but... just doesn't feel right. _"I remember the XO quarters were very spacious, unless you have made some modifications?"

"Yes, there is a lot of empty space down there," McSorley nodded. "It appears as if one of the rooms had been filled with some kind of hardware that was removed years ago. Don't know what it was, but it looked as if it had covered most of the space in the XO quarters... you probably know what it was, Shepard. Care to satisfy my curiosity?"

"Err, just some fancy equipment for Crucible related research," Shepard quickly lied, managing to keep a straight face. They had been quite successful at hiding Liara's occupation as the Shadow Broker, and just because she had given the reigns over to Feron Shepard did not want anyone to know that Liara had ever held the position. There were many who believed that Shadow Broker was not a job you could retire from, so there was always a chance that they would figure that Liara was still the acting broker and order a hit on her. "Anyway, I can share with Shiala, proper quarters are more comfortable than a sleeping pod, besides it's going to be a short flight of five, six hours anyway."

"Yes... as soon as our pilot decides to return to his post and set our course," McSorley gave Joker another nasty little glare, his face darkening when Moreau still made no move towards the elevator.

"Eh, don't be an ass, LC, haven't seen Shepard in five years, give me a few minutes, alright?" Jeff scowled, when McSorley kept glaring at him.

"Fine, you have two minutes, if we're not moving by that time I'm going to submit a report about your insubordination," the young LC hissed before getting into the elevator. "I'll be at the CIC, Shepard, if you have any questions or mission relevant intel to discuss," he added before hitting a button as the elevator doors closed.

"Charming fellow," Shepard shrugged after McSorley had retreated. "So, how you've been?" she eventually dared to ask, staring directly into Joker's eyes and seeing... a great deal of pain, but fortunately it was not all she saw. "Still hating my guts, I take it?"

"Nah... well, a bit," Joker said, a bit uncomfortably. "I mean... I did pull quite a number on you too, Shep, so I figure that I've probably won the 'shitty things done to one another' contest, right?"

"By a country mile, Jeff. By a fucking country mile," Morgan grinned. "And I sense that I'm not going to even get an apology out of you, asshole. "

"Well, I..." Joker hesitated, giving a nervous glance at Shiala, then checking his chrono and giving a little look back at the elevator.

"Thought so," Morgan knowingly clicked her tongue. _Maybe he just didn't feel comfortable apologizing in front of a stranger? One would hope that's the explanation. _"Still, we have work to do, so I'm willing to let things slide. Truce?" she asked, reaching out with her hand and after a moment of thought, Joker accepted it.

"Alright, truce," his lips quirked into a crooked smile as he glanced over to Shiala. "As a sign of reconciliation, I'll send a copy of the latest sequel of Vaenia to the XO quarters for your enjoyment, ladies," he recovered with a smug grin.

"Oh, you must be mistaken, Shepard is not mine to give pleasure to," Shiala spoke softly, moving a little closer to them. "But perhaps we two could watch this Vaenia of yours together, hmm?"

"Err... uh... isn't it two minutes already, yes, I think it is, I have a ship to fly..." Joker quickly jumped into the elevator as if having been stung by wild bees. "Catch up with you later, Shepard!"

Shiala turned to Shepard with a knowing grin. "Yes, I thought that would work," she said as Morgan gave her an approving nod. "I think we should have an uninterrupted flight now," they both shared a brief laughter before picking up their footlockers and proceeding towards the elevator.

* * *

_Kite's Nest, Khar'shan Approach_

"So, that's Khar'shan, eh?" Shepard mused, standing on the bridge, together with Shiala and Lieutenant-Commander McSorley, looking at the planet below. "Looks like a rather gentle and peaceful garden world. Who'd think it would spawn something as ill tempered as the batarians?"

"I'm sure there are a lot of species in the galaxy who think the same about humans and Earth," Joker grunted, Morgan letting a laugh escape her throat as she nodded to that. "Anyway... we actually still don't have much intel on the planet itself, apparently the day is a little shorter than on Earth and it's slightly warmer but not by much... besides, I don't think weather conditions down there will be your concern, Shepard."

"Moreau is right about one thing, even with the Hegemony gone, not many humans travel to this system," McSorley added. "Even fewer have actually landed on Khar'shan. So we don't have too much to go on here."

"I'm used to working like that, thinking on my feet is kind of a Spectre prerequisite," Morgan shrugged, then passing a prepared datapad to the LC. "Can you give this to your comm specialist and ask them to open a channel for me?"

"Of course, Shepard," the new commander of the Normandy nodded. "You can start heading to the comm room right away, it's still in the same old place, nothing has really been changed here. The Alliance High Command wants to preserve this ship in the same state it was during the Reaper War... once it's out of commission, this baby is heading straight to a museum."

"And I'm with it," Joker laughed, as Shepard and Shiala moved away, walking to the comm room where upon their arrival the connect button was already glowing, awaiting activation.

Soon enough, Morgan found herself facing the four eyed stare of their batarian contact. She was never truly comfortable with these people, finding their eyes unnerving, the revulsion she experienced since Elysium was partly gone, but not completely. Every time she looked into some batarian's face, she remembered how one by one they had passed the pile of corpses she had been hiding under on Elysium, those disgusting narrowed eyes scanning the bodies, looking for the tiniest twitch or movement to find another survivor and then finish them off as well.

"Marat, right?" she asked, not mincing words, the agent quickly nodding. "Shepard here. What's the situation down on the planet?"

"Tricky," the batarian replied in a thick, smoky voice, characteristic to their kind. "The krogan have started what they plan to be the final push, and there are still way too many batarian civilians who haven't made it off the planet caught in the middle."

"How many?" Morgan pressed.

"I think around three hundred thousand," Marat replied, Shepard feeling herself blanch a little from the words. _Three hundred thousand. The same amount I killed on Aratoht. I __**had**__ to kill on Aratoht._ "Listen, Shepard... I had to do something that might piss you off."

"What? What did you do? Explain!" Shepard demanded.

"You've been briefed on what I am trying to do, right?" she nodded quickly to that. "We're running out of time for any negotiations... so I had my sources drop your name to both krogan and the batarians. Now, before you threaten to kill me, let me just tell you that it worked. They know that the Council is sending someone to broker a deal, and both sides are willing to talk. But the offer for negotiations won't be on the table for much longer once the krogan offensive truly begins."

"Hmm, dropping my name to the batarians, that was pretty stupid, Marat. You know my reputation amongst your people," she scowled. "But well... if it worked, I guess I can't complain. My plan was simply to put pressure on the krogan and get them to back off, really. I think they would have listened to the Hero of the Krogan."

"Do you want me to cancel the arrangements I've made and just talk with the krogan?" Marat asked.

"No, don't do that," Morgan decided. "But I did want to speak to someone in charge of the krogan first, can you get me in touch with anyone at all?"

"Afraid that's impossible, Shepard, you can't reach them through orbital communications, there's too much jamming," Marat shrugged. "You'll need to come down groundside and I'll see what I can do."

"Alright, give me the coordinates," Morgan said, waiting until she received the location and then disconnecting the call. "Well... what do you think?" she turned towards Shiala who had been silently watching the entire conversation.

"If I didn't know he was an agent of the Shadow Broker, then that last part of the conversation would have triggered alarm bells, Shepard," the commando replied. "Sudden changes of plan are never a good sign."

"Exactly my thoughts," Morgan sighed. "Well, let's just be on our guard. Time to grab our gear and get to the shuttle!"

* * *

The surface of Khar'shan reminded to Shepard of Earth five years ago, just after the Reaper invasion. The devastation was widespread, as if every building on the planet had been leveled, and the batarians here had barely rebuilt anything, too few of them left and those few now also harassed by the krogan. The aggressive vegetation was beginning to completely cover the mass of ruins below, somewhat hiding the sad state of the planet, but as the Kodiak shuttle landed in the deep jungle, just outside a few small prefabs, the destruction around them was plain to see.

As soon as they landed, a batarian's head poked out from a dark shaft next to one of the prefabs. Marat, Morgan recognized him from the vid feed before, waved to them, beckoning them to come over. Having sent Cortez back to the Normandy, Shepard and Shiala proceeded to climb after their batarian contact into the deep shaft, eventually ending up in a rundown underground bunker, several security doors leading to a room filled with consoles and terminals, busy workplace of a Shadow Broker agent.

"I was told you would be traveling alone," Marat remarked, looking at the completely nonchalant Shiala, leaning against the wall and appearing bored, even if Shepard knew that in reality the commando was deep in observation.

"Yeah, that's what you get with us Spectres, complete unpredictability," Shepard shrugged. "Don't think it should be a problem, right?"

"Of course not," the batarian replied quickly. "Was just wondering. Anyway..." he led her over to one of the consoles, Shiala now peeling off the wall and approaching them. "This is the message that I sent through my krogan contact to Clan Leader Jurdon Aglan while you were on your way here," he showed the brief message to Shepard, before flicking to another one, this one typed almost entirely in capital letters and dreadful spelling, almost as bad as Grunt's. "That is... as I'm sure you can imagine, the reply of an eloquent krogan," Marat smirked. "Still, you can just about understand where he wants to meet up with you. It's another bunker ten minutes of flight from here. I'll take you there myself."

"Well, obviously, we just sent our shuttle back to the Normandy and we don't really know the terrain very well," Morgan nodded, reading the message herself. Everything seemed to check out, it appeared authentic and some of her nervousness began to fade. "Shall we?" she asked impatiently.

"Of course, let me take you to the shuttle. This way," the batarian nodded, about to lead Morgan away through another set of security doors, before sharply turning around and looking back. "What are you doing back there?" he exclaimed, looking a little agitated as he saw Shiala press a button on the open console. "Shepard, what is your associate doing? I don't want anyone tampering with my terminals, they are filled with sensitive information!"

"Sorry about that," Shiala shrugged apologetically. "Just engaged power saving mode. I guess it was instinctive, I always do that upon leaving... we were leaving, yes?"

"Yes, we are... and don't do that again, please, we don't want to upset our host," Morgan warned, even though she was more than certain that Shiala had just lied to the batarian. _But why, what did she see on that console that I missed? Everything seemed legit, should I be worried about the krogan setting a trap? Damn it..._ Morgan's nervousness returned with full force as Marat led them through darkened corridors to a small garage with retractable roof, hiding his personal shuttle. Moments later, they were on their way towards the designated meeting place, Shiala still not saying a word, appearing calm and soon enough Morgan began to relax a little again.

"I didn't see any krogan trucks or shuttles outside," Morgan remarked, as Marat began to lead them deeper into the other underground bunker that was the appointed meeting place with the krogan clan leader. "Or are they simply late to the party?"

"This bunker has more than one entrance, Shepard," Marat helpfully explained, continuing to walk in front of them as they traversed another long and narrow corridor. "And if they are not here already, they will be soon, don't you worry, Spectre."

"Fair enough, just checking," Shepard shrugged, as they finally reached the end of the corridor, Marat quickly bypassing the locked doors and leading them inside into a small chamber before stopping. "Something wrong?" she asked, noticing that the batarian had activated his omni-tool and pressed something.

There were sudden loud hissing sounds as several vents opened in the walls of the chamber, quickly filling it with thick smoke. "Gas!" she heard Shiala shout, trying to put up some kind of protection with her biotics, but it didn't seem to be working as the asari was already staggering on her feet.

When Marat turned around to face them again, Shepard saw that his face was covered with a breathing mask, protecting him from the fumes. "I might be a loyal agent to the Shadow Broker, Shepard... but first and foremost, I am a batarian..." he spoke, the filter on his mask making his voice sound cruel and detached as Shepard was struggling to remain conscious, suffocating, desperately hoping that Shiala might still do something to get them out of this, but one look at the asari, twitching helplessly on the ground, told her that no help was forthcoming.

"Time to answer for your crimes... Butcher of Aratoht," was the last thing that Shepard heard before she lost her consciousness.


	12. My Devils Have Four Eyes

_A/N: This chapter was seriously hard to write and edit. And I must also issue a serious warning to all readers. This chapter, at least the first part of it, contains graphical description of torture. Don't treat this warning lightly._

_To all those wondering if this means that I have turned into some kind of angst puppy and the story is now heading for a dark and depressing path... well, that's not really the case. I try to build my stories just like rollercoaster rides, and we're just hitting the low point with this chapter. Stick with me, and I'll make it worth your while - and skip the first part of this chapter, if you aren't sure about being comfortable with the topic._

**Chapter 12 - My Devils Have Four Eyes**

_Year 2191 CE  
Khar'shan, Kite's Nest _

"Ah, Shepard... you're awake. Finally," at first she could only hear the voices, before her vision cleared, revealing faces of at least three batarians, hovering over her. "Seems like the constitution of the... Savior of the Galaxy is not particularly impressive." She slowly started to gather her bearings, beginning to struggle against the restraints, keeping her immobile against the cold surface of a metal table.

"You struggle in vain, Shepard... I assure you, there will be no escape, no heroics this time," the batarian leader spoke. She tried to raise her head from the table and see whether Marat was amongst them, but the traitor appeared to have already made his escape.

The situation appeared rather dire, after she had finished looking around. There were altogether four batarians in the small cell, she was out of her armor, strapped to the table and barely able to move her limbs, she could not see her infiltration suit or weapons anywhere. _And Shiala, where is Shiala, what have they done to her? _

"You probably wonder what we have in mind for you, Shepard," the leader spoke again, leaning so close that his pungent, reeking breath made Morgan recoil in disgust, as much as the restraints allowed her to. "You can be sure that it will be nothing pleasant. You will not be leaving this room alive."

"Rather ironic, considering I came here to try and save your people," Morgan wheezed, her throat feeling very parched from having breathed the noxious fumes.

"What do you have to say to that, boys? Do we want to be 'saved' by the Butcher of Aratoht?" he asked of his cronies in a mocking voice, eliciting only laughter, derogatory remarks and insults in response. "Hear that? Nobody here needs your rescuing, Shepard. We will stay here on Khar'shan, and we will repel the krogan and anything else that the Council throws at us. The Hegemony will prevail and be reborn, hundred times stronger than before!" This message was met with loud cheers of approval.

"You are obviously delusional," Morgan calmly remarked, trying to buy some time while she continued to look around for ways of escape, but nothing presented itself. _Shiala, please, be alive and well, please come to my aid now... _

"We will see about that," the batarian smirked. "Now... I'm sure you would make a very valuable bargaining chip with the Council, but... to deny our people the opportunity to be avenged for what you did to Aratoht? That would rob us of the last vestiges of honor!"

"Batarians have honor? That's a surprise," Morgan managed, trying to bait her captors. _If I can get them mad with anger, they could slip up, make some mistake which I could exploit... or they could just kill me quicker... which I doubt they would._

Her barb was effective, as it made the leader snarl angrily at Morgan, walking closer up to her and silencing her with a heavy backhanded slap that forced Morgan's head hard against the metal table, momentarily dazing her. "I feel like drawing this out a bit longer, don't you agree, boys?" again, cheers erupted around the small cell. "Anyone here ever tortured a human? Grackan, you must have done it back when you were running with the Blue Suns!"

"Done a few, yes," another batarian approached the table, this one slightly older judging from the grey complexion of his skin. "Want me to play around with her a bit, or go to the serious stuff right away?"

"We have a lot of time," the leader chuckled, nodding to one of his lackeys. "You, make sure to record everything, I want you to catch every scream she makes! We'll broadcast it to our people to boost their morale... no, we'll make the entire galaxy watch and see what happens to those who turn on the batarians!"

Even if Morgan was trying to put on a brave face and not give her captors the satisfaction to see her fear, this threat did make her shudder, heart starting to skip like mad. _Oh god, Liara must not see something like that being done to me... or my daughter, I must stop them, I cannot allow them do this to me!_ The grizzled old batarian also frightened her, he was studying her with a creepy, knowing expression of someone who had tortured countless people before, and when he took her hand in his, starting to stroke her skin, she began to thrash again, hopelessly trying to pull away.

"Such beautiful hands for someone who has seen so much battle... yes, I believe we can do something here, it seems like a good place to start," Grackan muttered, then pulling away to retrieve a box of tools and starting to rummage around, picking up something that looked somewhat like a set of pliers. "Yes... I think this will do. Always makes them scream... and if it doesn't, softens them up nicely."

As the batarian torturer took the index finger of her left hand, holding it firmly, Morgan was overcome with a wave of horrible nausea, almost making her throw up from the sickening feeling of hopelessness, unable to protect herself from being violated, the only small mercy she felt thankful for was that outright rape thankfully hadn't occurred to these bastards. _Or maybe that's the next item on the agenda after torture?_

The pain was excruciating when Grackan used the pliers to grasp the fingernail and slowly started to tear it off. _Liara, my sweet... I love you so much... keep yourself and our daughter safe..._ That was the only thought she was holding onto, gritting her teeth hard, grunting from the effort not to scream, unable to keep a few tears spilling down her cheeks as she felt something at the tip of her finger giving way and she squeezed her eyes shut when the batarian raised the pliers triumphantly together with her bloodied, removed nail.

She managed to endure the treatment on three more fingers, before finally passing out, still avoiding to give the batarians the screams they expected. Of course, they were not about to allow Morgan this easy escape into unconsciousness, one of them slipping something disgustingly smelly under nose that immediately shook her back awake and the torture resumed again. She slipped into unconsciousness several more times until Grackan was done with all her fingers, straightening up and looking into Morgan's face, a dirty mess of sweat and tears, muttering incoherently, but still refusing to scream.

"She is a brave one," the old batarian grudgingly admitted. "She would rather let her mind be shattered by the pain, than giving us the satisfaction we crave for."

"Break her, or I will be very displeased," the leader snarled angrily.

"I have broken even toughest krogan warlords... I will break her easily. After all..." he smiled, reaching for a wickedly curved knife. "We have only just started..."

Her hands already being a raw mess of burning soreness, Morgan was slowly becoming a little more adjusted with the constant hurt, getting her breathing back under control, starting to cope with the shock, when another sudden explosion of pain burst through her, originating somewhere in her left hand. She wasn't quite sure what had been done to her, before Grackan brought his hand up to display something, eliciting more cheers from his fellows, and she instinctively snapped her eyes shut, not wanting to even take a look.

The batarian leader was obviously displeased with her reaction. "She's not even looking, damn it!" he cursed. "Grackan, can't you cut off those... lids that cover her eyes so that she's forced to look?"

Morgan's eyes immediately flew wide open from that threat, her stare chained to the small and bloody stump that the torturer was holding up for her viewing pleasure. When she realized just what it was and that they had just hacked off one of her fingers, Morgan could no longer maintain her resistance. The long awaited scream came, before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she passed out again.

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

"I swear, you should just buy her a shovel, it is clear to me that she's going to follow in your footsteps," Aethyta laughed throatily as she and Liara kept watching Lita's antics, tearing out grass from the lawn in the nearby public park. Liara simply watched her daughter with a loving smile, clearly not having the heart to stop her, even if she knew Lita should not be allowed to cause damage to the lawn.

"I suppose I should... and I really shouldn't let her ravage the grass like that, but..." Liara sighed, remembering Benezia's gentle reprimand when she had ran back to hug her mother only to leave dirty soil-stained imprints on the matriarch's beautiful yellow dress. "And the temptation to steer Lita down the same path that I have chosen will be great, I know it, but I must resist it... it was what Benezia tried with me, and I fought her tooth and nail. And I ended up resenting her for it. I do not wish for Lita to resent me... ever."

"You just might do good at this parenting thing, kiddo," Aethyta smiled, gently pinching her daughter's cheek, startling Liara with the unexpected gesture. "As you well remember, I was horrified when I saw you disembarking the shuttle from Destiny Ascension, carrying a newborn babe in your arms... I thought it was Shepard's mad idea, putting you up to this pregnancy before you were ready for it, and I was almost ready to kill her for it. But... somehow it has been working out, hasn't it? The mistakes Benezia made are still fresh on your mind, I can feel that... and it might play into your favor. You will remember them, and you will not repeat the same mistakes."

"I hadn't thought about it like that," Liara confessed. "But there is wisdom in your words." They fell silent, watching Lita again. The littlest asari had unearthed several harmless bugs under the patch of grass and was now curiously poking them, trying to force them into moving around, but the bugs simply curled up and decided to be boring, much to Lita's displeasure. "I see so much of myself in her," she added with a deep, happy sigh.

"You know... I never really forgave Benezia for not letting me be there for you. Not until she died, anyway," Aethyta said, her voice tinged with rare sadness. "But taking care of Lita... well, as you say, there is so much of yourself in her, that it makes me feel as if I am somehow reliving those stolen years with you through her. And it makes it easier for me to forgive Benezia."

"Oh, dad..." Liara began to sniffle upon hearing Aethyta's words, then briefly smothering her father in a fierce embrace. "I am so happy to hear you say that... and so happy to have you here with us..."

"Bah, all I do is get you teary again, so much for my efforts of cheering you up," Aethyta scolded herself, but the expression in her eyes was one of happiness.

"Good kind of tears, dad... I do feel much more better already," Liara smiled. "We should be returning home soon, though," she then remarked, only now noticing that the evening had grown quite late, and the rising breeze from the nearby lake was starting to get just a little chillier. "I wonder how they're doing on Khar'shan," she said upon rising from the bench, but her voice appeared much more relaxed.

"You know that she'll be fine, don't you? A few stupid batarians won't keep someone like Shepard down." Liara laughed and nodded at that. "You know... I really am glad that you have her, kiddo. Wasn't too sure about her when she showed up on Ilium... but that could have been mostly because of Cerberus... still, I won't deny, I'm quite proud of everything she's done."

"You could tell her that sometime, too," Liara suggested, before walking up to Lita and starting to perform surgery on the lawn ravaged by her exuberant daughter.

"Nah... you know perfectly well that Shepard's ego must be encouraged like that, or she will become even more insufferable," Aethyta laughed, coming to help and picking Lita up in her strong arms. "But I'm quite sure that if those damn batarians decide to stir trouble... she'll sort them out without any problems..."

* * *

_SSV Normandy, Orbit Above Khar'shan_

When Spectre Morgan Shepard regained some kind of consciousness again, the first sensation she felt was an unpleasantly bright, intrusive light trying to penetrate through her eyelids. Uncertain whether she was already dead and this was afterlife, or whether her tormentors were simply preparing more tests for her, she did the only instinctive thing she could think of... pulling away from the light, sharply throwing herself backwards and then hitting her head painfully against something hard behind her. This made her realize with a great deal of surprise that her suddenly aching head was the only part of her body that was hurting, and it was incomparable to the terrible agony she had been in when passing out earlier.

Something had changed, but she was not sure what it could be. Since her head ached, she was not dead. But her hands were not hurting either, so she was no longer being tortured... steeling herself for another unpleasant surprise, she forced herself to open her eyes and face that irritatingly bright light... finding herself in instantly familiar surroundings, the Normandy medbay.

"Easy there, Shepard," she heard a kind woman's voice, but still kept struggling when someone took her by the shoulders and tried to push her back down onto the bed, throwing a wild punch that missed at someone. Being touched by some stranger set her body into involuntary spasms of revulsion, assaulted by the thoughts of pliers, knives and other implements of torture in the hands of the old batarian. "You are amongst friends, Shepard, please do not struggle, or I will have to sedate you," the woman spoke again, likely the new chief of the Normandy medbay. Her voice lacked the authority of Dr. Chakwas, but still, it was firm enough for Morgan to stop her fighting, as the more rational part of her brain slowly slipped back into the gear.

_Okay... I'm somehow back on the Normandy... I don't know how, but I'm alive... I can relax now, it's going to be fine... probably going to be fine,_ she slowly began to process her thoughts. _Now I just need to find out answers to some really important questions... steady there, Shep... take it easy, don't get overwhelmed... let's see, first, where is Shiala... second... was there any permanent damage, how many fingers have I lost... seem to have feeling in every one of them, but how is it possible, I saw them... gods, I saw them waving my finger in the air like a trophy, taking footage of it with the omni-tool... oh my god, Liara... Liara, I need you so much right now..._

"Okay..." she said quietly, just to test her voice and whether she was capable of speech. So far everything appeared normal. "I am... back on the Normandy? How?" Morgan asked, slowly opening her eyes, staring at the unfamiliar doctor, still not being completely certain it was not some kind of cruel illusion.

"You were saved by the krogan of the Jurdon clan. They contacted the Normandy and we picked you up from the batarian bunker," the doctor explained, then turning towards her assistant, still trying to keep Shepard down on the bed, while she glared and struggled against the unwelcome touch, reminding her too much of her recent experiences. "Fred, let go of her, please," she ordered the assistant away. "I can see it is upsetting her, but don't worry, Shepard will behave now."

"What about... what about Shiala?" Morgan asked, almost mortified with fear. "Is she alright? Please tell me she's alright..."

The doctor only allowed herself a small smile, before taking a few steps to where a folding screen kept one bed isolated from the rest of the medbay, pulling it aside and revealing the sight of Shiala, hooked up to just about every possible piece of equipment available in the medbay, reminding Shepard of her own state upon waking up after the Crucible discharge. "They tried to execute her before fleeing," the doctor explained. "She put up her biotic barriers, but without any armor and the shot being point blank... well, there was extensive damage. Still, Shiala is in excellent physical shape, and she will pull through. I do not expect there will be any debilitating aftereffects, other for a few new scars."

"Gods... thank you, doctor, you are... obviously very good at your job," Shepard only managed to breathe out some token gratitude, but still, the woman appeared thankful. "And what about... my own injuries?" she finally summoned the courage to ask.

The doctor actually appeared disgusted and outraged at the memory, then gathering herself to reply. "They had started on cutting off the fourth finger on your left hand, Shepard. I have seen a lot in this line of work, but this kind of torture..." she shook her head. "Let's just say, I am glad we got to you in time... Fred and I managed to find your severed appendages and since the removal was very recent, I was able to reattach them."

"So... when I feel all my fingers flexing... they're really there, and it's not just that ghost limb effect?"

"You will be alright, Shepard," the woman smiled at her, as if wanting to add 'at least physically', but then deciding against it. "I have access to the files regarding your implants, but it was still very impressive to see them in action. All signs that your fingers have been severed and reattached had disappeared twenty four hours after the surgery."

"Twenty four hours?" Shepard blinked. "I've been under for that long?"

"Actually, you have been sedated for thirty six hours, Shepard," the doctor confessed guiltily. "I wanted to ensure that your implants have the opportunity to do their work without interruption. If you had been awake, you might have accidentally done something to aggravate your injuries. But now, you are free to move around as you please, Shepard, just do not remove those bandages. The implants take a little longer with helping your body to re-grow the fingernails, I expect that will take a few more days."

_Oh... there's no permanent damage... gods, that's more than I could have hoped for. I honestly thought I would die an ignoble death in that horrible, dank pit, my last moments then broadcasted to the entire galaxy, including my family... oh god, if that had come to pass... I cannot imagine anything more horrific for Liara. I don't ever want her to know what happened to me down there, she can never know this... I must find a reason to delay us for two more days so that those nails can re-grow and there are no signs for her to notice... _

"Alright... thanks a lot, Doc, brilliant job there," she eventually said, having recovered a little bit. "Anything important happened while I was out? Where is the Normandy right now?"

"Still orbiting around Khar'shan, Shepard," the doctor replied. "The clan leader of the krogan wants to speak with you, but I cannot allow you to see them just yet. I want you to rest some more, and I will tell Lieutenant-Commander McSorley to ask the krogan to take a shuttle to the Normandy in four hours from now."

"Well... alright, doc," Morgan agreed reluctantly. If it had been up to her, she would have preferred to see the krogan right away, but she knew that she did not have much choice in the matter. This doctor, while not as commanding as Dr. Chakwas or even Dr. Michel, was still the undisputed ruler of the medbay, and Shepard knew she had to obey. "I'm really curious about one thing, and I hope that the krogan can answer that question," she mused, the doctor also giving her an intrigued stare. "I wonder... just how they knew where to look for us?"

* * *

Morgan did not remember how, but somehow she must have fallen asleep again, waking several hours later to the sound of someone's voice, speaking nearby. Reluctantly, she forced her eyes open, with surprise noticing that the speaker was none other than Joker, standing next to her bed and looking angry and upset, smiling a little as he noticed that her eyes were open, watching him.

"Hey, Jeff..." she said, forcing a smile of her own. "Sorry... won't get rid of me that easily, it seems..."

Joker winced as if having been stung. "Please, Shepard... I know I joke about pretty much anything, but... let's not joke about this, alright?" he said, turning away, as she kept watching the grim profile of his face. "When they brought you back onboard, you looked... pretty damn horrible, and... when I saw Fred following the doctor, carrying the jar with your severed fingers..." Joker actually shuddered at that memory, Morgan feeling a little revolted herself. "Just really pissed me off to see you like that."

"Yes, it didn't quite go as well as planned," Morgan admitted slowly. "Well, at least now I've found out that you still care despite everything."

"Laugh if you wish, but I did feel pretty damn horrible seeing you like that, Shepard. Kinda put things in perspective... the way we've been feuding, now makes me really ashamed about acting like that... if they had killed you while we were still on bad terms, I would... I would never have... ah fuck, I'm not good at this," Joker spat angrily. "Listen... what I want to say... I'm sorry, okay? I was... hurt and angry, but I... went too far, and I said a lot of things I didn't mean, things I never should have said. Can you ever forgive me, Shepard?"

"I think I can forgive you, little buddy. I think I can," Shepard said softly. "Let's just bury that hatchet, once and for all. For real, this time, okay?"

"Okay," Joker agreed in a strained voice, not daring to look at her and sniffling a bit, before he gathered himself and assumed his usual cocky and flippant expression. "Anyway, actually just came to tell you that I can't delay the krogan any longer, they're coming up to the Normandy and will be here in fifteen. That clan leader of theirs, Jurdon Aglan, sources say he's one real mean cuss, so be careful, alright?" Jeff finished, before quickly retreating after she had given him a nod of affirmation.

Preparing herself for the krogan clan leader's arrival, Morgan got out of the bed, not wanting to appear weak and injured in front of this Jurdon Aglan. The folding screen separating Shiala from the rest of the medbay had been pulled away by now, letting Shepard walk all the way up to the commando's bed to check up on Shiala, but the asari looked to be doing much better already, currently in a deep, restful sleep.

Standing by Shiala's side was where Lieutenant-Commander McSorley found her a while later, together with two marines accompanying one of the most intimidating krogan that Morgan had ever seen. She always thought that Wrex had a lot of scars, but in comparison, Jurdon Aglan was a huge walking scar all by itself. Seeing that McSorley and his team were still milling about, unsure whether to leave her alone with a krogan of extremely nasty reputation, Morgan dismissed them with a nod of her head, then turning to greet her visitor.

"Shepard. Good to see you back in action," the large krogan grunted. Morgan was pleasantly surprised when he reached out for handshake, spotted her bandaged hands and then thoughtfully pulled his hand back. _Odd... he's supposed to be extremely ruthless and downright cruel!_ "To be able to come to your aid was a great honor, Shepard. We could not allow the Hero of the Krogan to perish!" _Then again... maybe my reputation amongst the krogan carries weight even with the nastiest clans... that's kind of... pretty damn flattering._

"Yes, I must thank you for the timely rescue, Aglan," Shepard replied, watching the krogan chief intently. "How did you even know that I needed rescuing, can you shed any light on that?"

"We received a message that Shepard herself was on Khar'shan to oversee negotiations with the batarians, we immediately followed to the coordinates attached with the message and came upon these batarians torturing you... they were damn surprised when we suddenly showed up. Didn't put up much of a resistance," Aglan let out a nasty little chuckle.

"But that doesn't make sense, if they planned to set a trap for me, why invite you to that trap?" Morgan blinked in surprise.

"I know, that seemed off to me," the krogan nodded. "Tried to make sense of what happened. That asari of yours was still conscious, and she told us what had happened. She told us that she repeated sending the message to us from the base of your batarian contact. But the thing is, Shepard, we only ever got one message, the one your asari sent. The batarian only showed it to you, but he had never actually sent it. The supposed krogan reply you saw was a fake."

"So... that's what Shiala was doing at the console..." Morgan suddenly realized. "She didn't trust him one bit..."

"Well, you'd have to be stupid to trust that four eyed scum," Aglan shrugged. "But yeah... she saved your ass, Shepard. Without that message, we wouldn't have arrived, and they would have-"

"Yes, I know!" Shepard exclaimed sharply, cutting him off. She didn't need some krogan elaborating on just what kind of torture the batarians would have put her through.

"Also brought you this, Shepard," the krogan said, throwing something on her bed. She stepped closer to take a look and find out that it was an omni-tool. "Figured you should have this to do what you want with it." _That omni-tool, _she realized instantly. _The one with the footage... the one I must destroy at the first opportunity, and then try to erase these memories from my mind... it's actually kind of touching that this supposedly bloodthirsty and violent warlord would thoughtfully give it back to me... well, galaxy is just full of surprises, isn't it? _

"Appreciate it," she managed eventually, staring at the omni-tool, while barely containing the feelings of rage and helplessness from the memory of what had been done to her.

"Shepard, I came here to ask the Hero of the Krogan for her approval for our plans here on Khar'shan," Aglan then continued, more businesslike now. "I want it to be the center of the krogan empire in the Kite's Nest. And after what they did to you, surely you will support us in driving the batarians out of the system?"

As Morgan considered her reply, she was assault by the memory of those faces surrounding her while she lay strapped to the table, their voices, laughter, as she tried desperately to struggle against the horrifying pain. Seething with rage, there was only one answer she could give, and Jurdon Aglan's beady red eyes narrowed to small, expecting slits as he awaited her reply. "Kill them all," she hissed angrily, clenching her fists and then wincing from pain when a hot surge shot through her aching fingers. "Wipe them out, slaughter them to the very last!"

The grin on the krogan warlord's face broadened, as he gave her an approving nod, but just as he was about to speak up, he was interrupted by a rasping, weak voice coming from Shiala's bed, the asari likely awakened by their loud exchange. "Shepard... please..." she whispered, Morgan all but running to her side, to tell the asari to stop exerting herself by speaking, but Shiala would not be denied. "Don't give in... to hatred..." she managed a weak whisper, making Morgan's shoulders slump instantly.

"Ah... fuck..." Morgan sighed, feeling her hatred and anger pooling away rapidly, as she stared in the pleading face of her savior. _She is right... they are not all like that... it will be hard to remember after Elysium and this, but I should try to... I should not give into my anger so quickly, I was about to ask the krogan to commit another Aratoht, to kill civilians, women and children included... I would have regretted it soon afterwards._ "Slight change of plans, Aglan. Give them a week to get everyone who wants to leave off the planet. Then, wipe out everyone who hasn't left." The krogan looked more than a little pissed off about these new orders, but Morgan would not stand for any backtalk. "Look, surely killing women and children doesn't give you honor, does it? If they send those civilians to Lorek or Anhur, what's it to you? The last remnants of the Hegemony will remain here to fight... and you will still have thousands and thousands of them to slaughter."

"Fine, as you would have it, Shepard," the krogan eventually shrugged after a bit of intense staring. "Not what I would have done, but whatever. If that's your final word, I'll be off then." He moved to walk away from the medbay, but Shepard spoke up to stop him.

"One more thing, Jurdon Aglan," she added warningly. "The Council never authorized you to conquer the entire Kite's Nest, but you did so anyway. I would be willing to left you off the hook for that, I might even convince the Council to look past that, but if you keep expanding outside Kite's Nest... I'm going to bring down the might of the galaxy on your scaly asses, is that clear?"

Aglan just stared at her for a while before giving an amused chuckle. "Of course, Shepard, it will be as you say. Your word is law for many of us... but be sure not to abuse your power, or... the consequences might be very severe..." he finished with a warning of his own, before turning around and leaving the medbay.

For a while, Morgan simply stood there, holding her breath before releasing it with a sigh of relief, then turning back to Shiala, the green-skinned asari facing her with an approving smile. "I know what you did, you beautiful and amazing creature," Shepard said softly, leaning closer and pressing a kiss upon Shiala's forehead. "And I will never forget that you saved me from certain death, and my bondmate and my child from facing a tragedy that could have scarred them for the rest of their lives." Shiala was about to say something, but Morgan would not let her, bringing a finger up to her lips and shushing her. "Don't speak... rest, regain your strength."

She was about to move away and let Shiala rest, when another thought occurred to her. "Shiala, but you must promise me one thing... we will tell Liara that the mission had its complications, that we both got injured, but..." she hesitated a little before continuing. "She can never know just what exactly was done to me... please, I need you to promise me that."

Shiala simply looked at her for a while, serene sadness in her expressive eyes, before she nodded, whispering in agreement. "I promise, Shepard."


	13. Calibrate This!

**Chapter 13 - Calibrate This! **

_Year 2191 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

Several months passed since Shepard's mission to Khar'shan. The Council had not been completely pleased with allowing the krogan to take full control of Kite's Nest, Valern and Sparatus predictably being the ones to complain the loudest. Tevos and Hackett looked appeased about her assurances that the krogan expansion would be limited to that system, Raan did not seem particularly concerned either way, while Urdnot Ngagong was more than pleased about the outcome.

At least seventy five thousand batarians had escaped Khar'shan before the hostilities resumed, most of them landing on Lorek, some going to Anhur, with Aria also allowing three carriers to dock on Omega, sensing opportunities for cheap labor for her factories and mines. The last of the Hegemony was then convincingly smashed by Clan Jurdon during three weeks of destructive warfare, now only scant remains continuing a doomed guerilla war, trying to prolong the inevitable end.

Morgan had allowed a few more details about the mission to slip through during a private QEC talk with Tevos, indicating that she had sustained injuries and that the mission hadn't been quite as smooth as her official report implied. Tevos had been understanding, and for the next few months the asari councilor exerted her subtle influence to keep her other colleagues and their errands off Morgan's back, only asking some easy tasks of her, such as coordinating with other Spectres in the asari space, making a few deliveries of sensitive intel on Thessia, and similar small requests.

Privately, Morgan had almost expected the effects of the torture to be more damaging, and she did have a few nightmares here and there, but overall she appeared able to shrug off the worst of it. After everything she had gone through during the Reaper War, there was not much left that could traumatize her, even if this attack was something much more deeply personal, a brutal act that left her feeling violated. But it helped that there were no batarians on Thessia, and barely any left in the Council space, so she was not haunted daily by the sight of her tormentors.

Also, Shiala's support proved invaluable, first and foremost in helping her hide the memories of her torture from Liara. While still back on the Normandy, with Shiala recovering from her injuries, the two had joined their minds several times, the asari commando training Morgan to better lock these memories away deep in her mind, where Liara would not think to look for them, unless she specifically knew what to search for.

Fortunately, Liara had too much on her mind to interrogate Shepard more closely about just what had happened on Khar'shan, being thrilled and relieved to get her bondmate back, at the first glance none worse for wear. She had watched Shiala getting transported from the Normandy to Janiri's Embrace, the best hospital in Armali, barely being able to contain her rage as she watched her old friend and mentor recovering from grievous injuries, knowing that her bondmate had been hurt as well, even if she mercifully did not know the extent of Morgan's suffering.

To say that Liara had been unhappy with Feron and his contact turned traitor, would be a gross underestimation. She had been livid with fury, screaming at the new Shadow Broker for almost ten minutes, probably giving the drell the worst chewing out he had ever experienced in his life. Shepard had not even meant to listen in on what was being said, but Liara had been shouting so loud that she was unable to avoid overhearing things, becoming a little sorry for the drell, even if the ferocity and protectiveness of her bondmate was something she found powerfully arousing.

Now, months after the Khar'shan incident, everything seemed to be returning to normal. The galaxy for the time being did not require a savior, Shiala was out of the hospital and had resumed training the growing circle of the House T'Soni huntresses, and even Feron had managed to work himself back into Liara's good graces via one specific piece of intel delivered to the asari this very morning, intel that Liara appeared to be desperately eager to share with Aethyta as she literally dragged Morgan and Lita downstairs and out to the little terrace where as usual, Aethyta and Shiala were already sitting at the breakfast table, chatting about something inconsequential, Aethyta probably trying to bring up something that would shock the usually stoic commando leader.

"Father! I have news!" Liara burst into the terrace and hugged Aethyta fiercely, before falling back into her seat, breathless.

"Easy there, kiddo," Aethyta blinked, taken aback a little. "Lucky thing I wasn't holding a knife when you jumped me like that! Now start breathing and explain what by Athame's generous tits is going on!"

"My associate has finally found her... I just received the news..." Liara breathed out, gratefully accepting the glass of water Morgan pressed into her hand, taking a few mouthfuls to calm down. "Aiana, they have located Aiana..." Morgan felt her eyes widen from surprise at that. Liara's half-sister from Aethyta's union with a hanar had been missing since the end of the Reaper War and all attempts to track her down had been unsuccessful. If Feron had managed to come up with this information, Morgan was certain that it would be more than adequate to quell Liara's anger towards the drell.

"Really?" Aethyta looked relieved, though not quite as overwhelmed about the whole thing as Liara. "That dimwit has always managed to fall through some crack and get herself lost... seriously, she is completely hopeless, you'll see that as soon as you meet her," the matriarch laughed, though not without a degree of fondness. "So, where is she?"

"Err... it seems that she had tried to help evacuating some civilians off a hanar colony, but her ship crashed on a remote planet somewhere in the Kahje system, leaving them with no means to contact the outside world," Liara sighed.

"Typical Aiana," Aethyta chuckled.

"They are picking up the survivors right now, they should arrive on Kahje in three days," Liara explained.

"I should go there to pick her up and bring her to Thessia, at least for the time being," Aethyta mused, looking ponderous. "Goddess knows, I can't expect her to make all the way over here on her own, that girl is completely useless, did I mention that before? She possesses an incredible talent at getting lost. Even when she was a young maiden, every time I sent her out to do some shopping, Aiana would end up on the other side of the city... if not in a different province altogether. For Aiana, a straight line definitely is **never** the shortest distance between two points."

"But father, don't you remember?" Liara asked. "Morgan and I need to go to the Citadel in two days! I warned you last week already and you said you would watch over Lita!"

"Ah yes, that nonsense with the new Spectres, right?" Aethyta noted, looking thoughtful. "Well, can't you bring Lita along for that?"

Morgan and Liara exchanged quick glances, knowing that they definitely wanted to be alone on this trip, considering it wasn't just about participating at the ceremony in which new Spectres would be sworn in. They were also supposed to afterwards join Aria and Tevos on a trip to Ilium, where everything was arranged for their bonding ceremonies. "She's really been looking forward to spending some time with you, though," Morgan remarked innocently, bouncing Lita on her knee. "Haven't you love?" she whispered in the little asari's tiny ear folds.

"Nana always much fun," Lita giggled excitedly, getting bounced up and down.

Aethyta sighed in defeat. "Bah... but someone needs to go and collect Aiana from Kahje," she didn't give up.

"Shiala will go," Liara said quickly, the commando looking a little surprised, having expected that she would accompany Morgan and Liara to the Citadel again, but eventually slowly nodding in agreement.

"Hmm, I don't really like this, but... you two will be careful, I trust?" Aethyta glared at both Liara and Morgan, earning two excited nods in reply. "Something tells me that you two are up to no good... up to something I would definitely not approve of, and that is why you two want to be alone..."

"We resent all these unfounded accusations," Shepard protested, even if her eyes twinkled with amusement. There wasn't much that slipped by Aethyta's keen senses, after all.

"Shepard, if you get my daughter pregnant again, I'm going to beat you to death with your own esophagus," Aethyta growled warningly, making everyone at the table laugh.

"Please, father, think a little better of us," Liara sighed despondently.

"Give me a reason to," Aethyta glared at her as well, before finally sighing and accepting her fate. "Fine, you two keep your secrets and go to the Citadel. Shiala, you'll go to Kahje, while I stay here and look after the smartest of this sorry bunch," she said, reaching over the table to tickle Lita, the not-so-tiny-anymore asari giggling excitedly. "And by the time you get back," she added, turning towards Liara. "Your half-sister should be back here, waiting to finally meet you..."

* * *

_Citadel, Council Chambers_

Despite the Council having nearly two hundred Spectres in their service, there were never more than a dozen annual promotions to this respectable status, meaning that every time it did happen, it was an important occasion earning wide coverage in the media and attracting the attention from many of the galactic figures of influence.

On this special day for two of their good friends, Morgan and Liara had to battle the crowds and stand in a long queue for their turn to take the elevator to the top of the Presidium Tower. All the councilors had been sending out invitations to their allies and backers, also inviting the media representatives to cover the event, meaning that the crowds were much thicker than Morgan remembered during her own promotion to join the Council Spectres. Then again, in her case, it had been very much a spontaneous and unplanned occasion, a quick on the spot decision by the three councilors after she had presented the evidence to reveal Saren's treachery.

Morgan and Liara slotted into one of the balconies, together with several asari officials in the service of Councilor Tevos as well as some of the asari councilor's guests, watching the proceedings below. Most of the councilors were already in their places on the largest and most opulent balcony, only Valern and Ngagong running a bit late, but since the crowds were still pouring in, the heroines of the hour hadn't been brought in yet either.

After twenty more minutes of waiting, the appointed time came, new arrivals trying to get in were no longer admitted, Valern and Ngagong showed up and the two soon-to-be Spectres were escorted into the Council Chambers by a small group of C-Sec officers. Morgan let out a brief sigh of relief, having noticed that Miranda was not wearing something suitably shocking, instead both she and Kasumi were wearing matching dark blue suits, making them appear very much prim and proper, perfect Spectre poster girl material.

"Whoa... you know, I don't think I've ever seen Kasumi without her hood on," Morgan remarked, her eyes focusing on the petite master thief in particular. While the expression on Miranda's face was as if stuck in a permanent sarcastic scowl, Kasumi looked to be a little taken aback by the huge crowds, but also seemingly reveling in the attention for once, now that she had agreed to forsake the anonymity of her previous occupation. "She's... actually really attractive," Shepard could not stop but to wonder admiringly, observing the purple eye-shadow under the wide, brightly gleaming eyes, and feeling slight envy as she regarded Kasumi's delicate ponytail of soft pitch-black hair.

"Attractive enough for me to start worrying?" Liara whispered to her, looking a little amused.

"What? Heck... no!" Morgan felt a little startled, her remark borne simply from surprise after finally witnessing one of the largest mysteries of the galaxy being revealed, that of the true appearance of Kasumi Goto. "You know well enough to whom my heart belongs," she added quietly, smiling at the now approving looking Liara. "But you can't deny that she does look good."

"That she does," Liara nodded.

Finally, the ceremony below began in earnest, exactly the same words spoken by all the councilors in turn as during Shepard's initiation amongst the Spectres. The only difference now was that considering the new Spectres were humans, the first word fell to Councilor Hackett. "Miranda Lawson, step forward," he called out, Miranda following the order with an expressive roll of the eyes. "Kasumi Goto, step forward!" Hackett spoke one more time, Kasumi almost bouncing to happily stand next to Miranda. "It is the decision of the Council that you two be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

"Spectres are not trained but chosen," Tevos smiled as she took over from Hackett. "They are individuals forged in the fire of service and battle."

Now it was the turn of Sparatus to continue. "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, their actions elevate them above the rank and file, they are the very embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance."

"Spectres are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will," Valern said grimly. "But they also carry a great burden," he turned to Raan, giving word to the quarian councilor.

"Spectres are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense," Shala'Raan continued. "The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"Yeah, whatever," said the krogan councilor, Urdnot Ngagong. "What they said," he added, shrugging at the amused chuckles throughout the Council Chambers.

"I can't help but liking the guy," Morgan managed, once she had stopped laughing, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. "He's such a... krogan. I wish he had been there to make my initiation ceremony more fun."

Liara smiled to that, then noticing the blinking red light on her omni-tool, indicating an unread high priority message, quickly checking it. "It's from Aria," she leaned closer to whisper into Morgan's ear, while Shepard watched her two new Spectre friends being escorted away to the brief press conference together with Councilor Hackett. "She wants us to board her ship in three hours for departure to Ilium."

"That means we have three hours of time to track down Garrus and Tali, and grab some food before leaving," Morgan whispered back, watching the large crowds now starting to pile towards the elevator. "We might need three hours just to get out of here..."

"Oh, I would not worry about that... I'll find a way for us, with force if necessary," there was a dangerous promise in Liara's quiet tones that as always held the potential of setting Shepard on fire. Her bondmate's biotics flared up slightly as she began to insistently push Morgan towards the exit. "I will not let anything stand in the way of our bonding..."

* * *

"What's going on, Shepard?" Garrus was understandably blunt upon their meeting near the private docking bays owned by some of the galactic heavyweights. "You've dragged us all the way here from Rannoch without explaining why, it's about time you let us know what you and Liara are up to!"

"In due time, my dear Garrus, in due time," Shepard chuckled in response, even if she knew that the turian was right to feel a little irritated about the secrecy. Instead, she turned to Liara and pointed at a small, sleek corvette docked in one of the bays. "Is that the one?"

"Well..." Liara mused thoughtfully, peering at her omni-tool. "Apparently this docking bay is owned by some mysterious and eccentric asari art collector by the name of Traia Koal... so yes, I imagine that is our ship, yes."

"What ship? What are you talking about? Are we going somewhere?" Garrus ranted. "I swear, if you don't tell me everything right now... Shepard, I had to bring Solana from Palaven just to mind the kids for this, we deserve to know what's going on!"

"It would be nice to know, yes," Tali agreed, giving Morgan an insistent stare.

Shepard sighed. While she would have been happy to torment Garrus some more, she could not refuse their sweet, little quarian friend. "Fine, fine... just keep quiet about it, alright?" she warned, looking around not to be overheard, which was a rather pointless exercise since the private docks had restricted access and they were all alone, Shepard having used her Spectre access codes for entry. "Guys, we're going to take a quick flight to Ilium."

"Ilium? Why Ilium? Whatever for?" Garrus blinked.

"Well... Liara and I are planning to do something that we can't do on Thessia, at least not without attracting stupid amount of attention that neither of us wants," Morgan whispered conspiringly. "So, we're going to Ilium to get married... or bonded, in complete secrecy!"

"Oh! That is so exciting!" Tali gasped, bouncing up and down before stopping and giving Garrus a meaningful stare. "Maybe it'll give the big lug a hint, too..."

"Huh? What is she talking about?" the turian wondered, looking rather confused. "And what's with this ship, don't tell me that's yours, too?"

"No, not really..." Morgan smiled, unwilling to break the big surprise just yet. "See, we're going to be joined by another asari couple who just like us want to get bonded all quiet like. The ship belongs to one of them."

"Sounds very thrilling, Shepard," Tali suddenly looked extremely enthusiastic about the whole deal, unlike Garrus, who still appeared slightly skeptical. "Who else is coming?"

"Well... we wanted to keep the news from spreading, so we agreed that both couples can only invite two guests," Morgan replied.

"And... you chose us?" Tali gasped. "Wow! I'm... so flattered! Thank you, thank you so much!" She quickly hugged both Morgan and Liara in turn before lightly kicking Garrus in the shins. "Don't you have anything to add, Garrus?"

"Err... yeah, thanks for inviting us, Shepard, really," the turian eventually managed, Tali's enthusiasm slowly beginning to spread onto him as well.

"When it became clear that we could only invite two guests, Shepard and I both immediately decided that it would have to be you," Liara added, smiling. "We've been through thick and thin together, there is nobody else who deserves more to stand with us on this special day."

"I completely agree," Morgan nodded, then pointing at the corvette again. "Shall we get in? Time for you to meet the others." _And get a small bit of shock, _she added with a smug inward chuckle.

As soon as everyone was onboard, upon having reached the small but comfortable passenger saloon easily accommodating up to ten travelers, Morgan was delighted to hear Garrus make a strangled sound that seemed like a cross between a moan and a gasp. "Aria?! Aria T'Loak?" he managed, freezing, the others having to bunch up behind him as he suddenly stopped in his path, probably thinking they had boarded the wrong ship after all. "No... wait a moment... Traia Koal? Spirits, that is... so horrible, even for you, Aria!"

"Good to see you too, Archangel," Aria chuckled, pointing at one of the empty seats. "Well, don't just stand there, there's a crowd forming behind your back! Don't tell me I'm making the famous turian hero all nervous?"

"Err... of course not!" Garrus tried to, but failed to sound nonchalant, as he finally threw himself into one of the seats, looking a little shaken.

Now it was Tali's turn to face the other passengers of the corvette, but unlike Garrus, she did not seem to be very fazed by Aria's presence on the ship. Instead, she kept staring at the beautiful asari sitting next to Aria and smiling politely at her, the quarian too stunned to move. "Ex-... excuse me, but... aren't you the asari councilor?" Tali finally recovered enough to ask. "Councilor Tevos?"

"That's right, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy," Tevos replied warmly. "I am very pleased to meet you. Your aunt speaks very highly of you. I hope we can form a friendship similar to what we have with Shala'Raan... she is truly wise and her insights are always appreciated in the Council Chambers."

"Uh... thank you," Tali said, nervously perching next to Garrus who still kept a suspicious stare focused upon Aria. "So... would I be correct to presume... that you're the guests of honor for the bonding of those two young asari sitting behind you?"

Rila and Falere exchanged a brief look and burst into loud giggles, further confounding Tali's confusion. "I'm afraid you're a bit off the mark there, little quarian," Aria laughed, then suddenly pulling Tevos into her arms and starting to kiss the councilor, despite Tevos' slight protestations.

The effect this sight had on Garrus and Tali was certainly memorable. Garrus turned towards Shepard and Liara at least twice, wide eyed and trying to say something, but no sounds escaped his mouth, as if he was trying to speak underwater. Tali had straightened out in her seat before slumping back in it, and everyone had burst into laughter before noticing that the poor quarian had actually fainted, at which point Garrus recovered enough to fiddle with the controls of Tali's suit and the increased oxygen flow served to quickly wake her up.

"Keelah... I can't believe it..." Tali gasped, turning on Morgan and Liara with an accusing gesture. "I'm so mad at you two for not warning me about this!"

"I'm very sorry, Tali, I did not expect it to be quite as big shock for you," Liara apologized, together with Morgan finally taking their seats as well.

"And now that we have all had our fun, let me tell you something very important," Aria spoke up, once things had settled down a little bit. "Shepard trusts you two to keep quiet about all this, and so I shall trust her judgment. Prove worthy of this trust, and we will all get along very well. Betray this trust and disclose what you are about to witness... and I will have to silence you permanently. You know who I am, and you know that I do not make threats lightly. Am I making myself clear?"

"Sure, Aria, we'll keep quiet about your sordid little affairs," Garrus shrugged.

"Shepard and Liara have honored us by this invitation," Tali added, sounding a little annoyed at Aria's threat. "We will not repay by betraying their trust, you can believe that."

"I want to trust you, and I certainly did not want to make threats on this special day, but I had to be sure," Aria finished amiably, then turning towards the salarian sitting in the pilot's seat. "We're all ready here, Ahz! Take us to Ilium!" she shouted, the salarian nodding quickly and the corvette immediately pulled out of the dock, flying with beautiful, light smoothness.

"This feels... so very surreal..." Tali spoke, still a little dazed, as their ship was well on its way towards the mass relay. "Illegal Ilium bonding with Aria T'Loak and Councilor Tevos..."

"I understand completely," Tevos gave her a reassuring smile. "I feel very overwhelmed myself, and I have been in on this plan from the very beginning... I can't believe it is actually going to come true!" She shook her head, letting out what sounded almost like a girlish giggle, before turning to Liara and Shepard, pointing at one of the footlockers on the ground. "Don't forget to take it when we disembark on Ilium. Inside, you will find everything that is needed for the wedding."

"Yes, we'll arrive on Ilium very late, so we'll have to spend the night at a hotel, the ceremony will take place the following morning," Aria said. "So you'll have one more chance to run for the hills, Shepard," she added with a laugh.

"That was not funny, Aria," Liara gave the Pirate Queen a dark scowl.

"Anyway... after the ceremony, the four of us," Aria pointed at Tevos, Morgan and Liara, "will take a short shuttle trip to an estate that I have rented just for this occasion. It is well away from the busy crowds of prying eyes and we will have it all to ourselves for two days. I have checked everything out myself, and I can assure you that it will be glorious."

"Hmm, almost like a short but sweet honeymoon, I can live with that," Morgan nodded to herself. "But what about Tali, Garrus and the girls?"

"I have paid for their hotel rooms for three nights," Aria said. "I will leave more than enough credits for you to spend your time on Ilium as you wish. The only thing I would ask of you two," she looked first at Garrus, then at Tali. "Is that you look after our stepdaughters while we are gone." Morgan and Liara exchanged a brief look of surprise, not having heard Aria refer to Rila and Falere that way before. _I suppose it saves her from lengthy explanations, and that's it, since they can't be legally adopted, _Morgan decided.

"Err... sure?" Garrus seemed a little surprised. He had seen Rila and Falere only briefly on the Normandy, and it was no wonder that he did not remember who they were. "They look quite capable at taking care of themselves, though?"

"I will explain in private," Aria cut him off sharply, unwilling to elaborate on just what made the two girls require special attention. "And you two," she turned around to face Rila and Falere. "No wandering around Nos Astra on your own, is that clear? That place is deceptively dangerous, do not underestimate it just because it is so beautiful." The two young asari nodded quickly, raising no protestations.

"Coming up to the relay in ten minutes!" the salarian, Ahz, shouted from the pilot's cabin. "Time to destination, two hours and twenty five minutes!"

"Excellent," Aria said, looking a little relieved, leaning back into her chair, appearing more relaxed now. She looked up, catching Garrus eyeing her again, breaking into a predatory grin. "By the way, Vakarian... you just reminded me of something I wanted to speak to you about. Something business related."

"Business related? This should be interesting," Garrus chuckled.

"I recently purchased the majority share in Rodam Expeditions, and I will soon be moving their main facility to Omega," Aria explained. "They are working on a very interesting sniper rifle prototype. I would be very interested to market it under your name in the turian space."

"Oh?" Garrus looked truly surprised. "I suppose we can discuss that, yes."

"I'll give you enough credits to last a lifetime... turian lifetime, at least," Aria said confidently.

"That's all fine and well, but I can't just associate my name with a subpar product," Garrus shook his head. "I would have to see how it performs before I agree to this."

"I'll be sure to invite you to some tests on Omega... that should bring some memories back... Archangel," Aria chuckled. "But I believe that you will be impressed. I already had to have them tone some of the components down because the rifle was too effective. And it was becoming too unaffordable for the average weapons enthusiast."

"Hmm... I could probably devote at least a few episodes of my extranet video blog about testing and modding the new rifle..." Garrus mused, suddenly looking very excited. "Yes, this could be very beneficial for us both, Aria."

"I was counting on that," the Pirate Queen agreed smugly.

"She was particularly hopeful that you would do an episode about it, Garrus," Tevos added helpfully. "Aria never misses an update of 'Calibrate This!'. In fact, she changes the mods on her pistols after every episode, based on your advice."

Everyone on the ship broke into brief laughter as Aria's face assumed a little deeper shade of purple. "You weren't supposed to say that, Tevos. In fact... it might require some punishment later," she told her lover, then leaning closer to whisper something to the other asari, and now it was the turn of Tevos to blush bright purple. "But yes... I am not ashamed to admit it, you do know a thing or two about guns, turian," she then told Garrus.

"Who would have thought that Garrus would eventually become an extranet celebrity," Morgan laughed, putting her arm around Liara's shoulders as they both looked fondly upon their old friend.

"Well, I spent so much time calibrating those damned cannons on the Normandy," Garrus replied smugly. "Might as well have all that hard work pay off, right?"

"Remember what we spoke about living off royalties after the Reaper War?" Morgan asked, the turian nodding back to her. "Looks like that's actually going to come true..."

"Yes, and it is no less than we have earned, Shepard," Garrus replied, suddenly pulling a slightly startled Tali into his arms. "Finally... life is good..."


	14. Tawdry Ilium Bondings

_A/N: I confess that being a totally nonromantic person myself, my wedding scenes probably suck beyond description. But... well, I really tried, and I think this is as good as I can manage. So, take it for what it's worth. :) At least I had a lot of fun writing the mini-honeymoon later, so I hope you'll enjoy that at least. It's a bit raunchy, but nothing too bad. ;)_

_In another bit of news, in a few days I will be leaving for a two week vacation in Scotland. I'm taking my laptop with me, and the lodge supposedly has free wifi, so I might be able to post updates. If that doesn't work out, well, I'll see you towards the end of July. :) _

**Chapter 14 - Tawdry Ilium Bondings**

_Year 2191 CE  
Nos Astra, Ilium _

The siarist temple that Aria had convinced to perform their bonding ceremonies, while ensuring their silence with a very generous donation and also a large dose of threats, was located in a rather seedy underbelly of the glorious Nos Astra. The short shuttle ride there was hardly romantic and from the outside the temple did not look much like a temple at all, more or less fitting in with the rest of dull grey buildings. However, things appeared very different once they passed inside, the decorations while lavish were also tasteful, the central hall where the ceremony itself took place had a lovely fountain designed to look like a natural waterfall, and the entire hall had been built to remind of a gentle Thessian meadow, together with simulated bird and animal noises and a breeze of gentle wind giving the impression that they found themselves outside, back on the asari homeworld.

Morgan and Liara quickly left the little changing room, having put on their ceremonial gowns, the asari apparently not slaves to the superstition that seeing their partner before the very ceremony would bring bad luck, walking towards the great hall while joined by Aria and Tevos on the way there. The other couple wore slightly different dresses to theirs, similar to the traditional asari robes in their length, but leaving their shoulders completely bare, showing off generous amounts of lovely purple skin. Her and Liara's dresses were shorter, roughly knee-length, but with a high collar and a delightful cut on the back. Morgan could not help but to wonder whether the design of the gowns had any significance as well, perhaps having to do with them being of different age than Aria and Tevos. The choice of color also made her curious, Liara and Tevos were both dressed in snow white, while she and Aria wore cyan colored outfits. _Perhaps it has to do something with our roles in the Union, maybe Aria thinks that we both are more dominant in our respective partnerships? Interesting..._

Many different thoughts coursed through her head as Tali and Garrus came to join them, followed by Rila and Falere, bringing the small white cases holding the ribbons they would soon be tying around their wrists to seal the bonds of their Unions. _This is it, Morgan Shepard... you're getting married... well, bonded, but it's the same deal... and this is probably not how I imagined it, but... I know for sure that I did not want a huge public spectacle that would attract the attention of the entire galaxy. Hundreds of guests, reporters poking into every corner, countless speeches, having to be the center of the attention... god, I'm so tired of it. If Liara doesn't need or want it... then I certainly don't either. _

_Of course, we could get bonded again, in some eighty or hundred years. The galaxy would have forgotten their heroes by then, and we could have a proper private ceremony on Thessia. But... many of those I would like to be there would have passed away by then. And those who are the most important to me, to us... they're here, in this room already, so it is as good as anything. Sure... I would have liked a few others to have been here too, for example Aethyta and Lita, even if our daughter would have no idea what was going on... and not to mention those no longer with us... Mom, you would have loved this, and you would have loved Liara and our baby... and David too, oh how I wish things had worked out differently... _

Morgan felt something pulling on her hand, snapping out of her reverie and looking into Liara's concerned face. She immediately flashed a reassuring smile to the love of her life. "Sorry, my mind strayed a bit off track," she whispered, watching Aria imperiously approaching the young siari priestess, smiling welcomingly at them.

"You are not the priestess who I had arranged to conduct the ceremony," Aria spoke to the young maiden. "Priestess... Helvina?" she added, having checked the name on her omni-tool.

"Oh no, I am merely an acolyte," the young maiden blushed. "My name is Leneosa, I will be assisting during the bonding ceremony. I regret to inform you that Priestess Helvina sadly is too ill to perform the ceremony."

"I hope it is nothing too serious," Tevos said, looking concerned.

"I do not think so, she got a little carried away during the feast to celebrate the end of the Week of Temperance," Leneosa explained helpfully. "We have another priest who is very experienced and well respected, and he will be happy to perform your bonding ceremonies, with my assistance."

"He?" Morgan asked, realizing that the young maiden had to be speaking about someone non-asari, which surprised her a great deal.

"With profuse apologies of lateness," came a booming voice as something large shuffled towards them from one of the darkened isles. "I am Priest Tehut. Prepare to be bonded."

As everyone watched the strange creature approaching, Morgan heard Liara gasp and couldn't help but to grin like a fool when she finally saw the massive and very officious black-wearing elcor appearing in their view, shuffling slowly while trying not to knock over any of the trinkets with his huge frame. "Priest Jabar Tehut has spent forty years of service in this temple, performing hundreds and hundreds of different ceremonies," Leneosa explained. "He is very sought after for bonding ceremonies in particular."

"Well... this is slightly unorthodox," Tevos said, sounding a little amused, but her enthusiasm did not seem deterred in the slightest. "But we have no reasons to doubt the qualifications of Priest Tehut."

"In serene hopefulness, would you prefer your bonding rituals to be performed according to asari or elcor traditions?"

"Elcor traditions?" Aria scowled. "Not a chance, why would we want that?"

"Predictably disappointed, because elcor rituals are subtle, intricate and sadly neglected," the elcor stated. "Very well. An all asari couple. A human and asari couple. Very aesthetically pleasing, yes. Your bonding bracelets." Garrus and Rila raised the small white cases in response. "Good. Step forth."

At the priest's urging, Shepard and the three asari approached what looked like a small altar in front of the elcor minister, Morgan and Liara standing hand in hand on the left side, Tevos and Aria over on the right, followed by their improvised bridesmaids, even if Garrus would have undoubtedly protested about the term being applied to him.

"With deep reverence, we begin," the elcor shuffled, somehow looking both respectful and just a little amusing at once. "At the dawn of light, a new life together begins, and we speak the words. We treasure the joy we bring each other every day. We value the trust we place in each other. We embrace the passion our Unions are blessed with. We cherish the love we feel for each other. And we pray, may these gifts never be taken from us." The priest fell silent, and for a moment, Morgan wondered what had happened, until Liara nudged her slightly. She turned around to see that Tali had approached them with the open case, urging them to take the colored ribbons, Morgan noticing with the corner of her eye that Aria was already busy tying the ribbon around Tevos' wrist.

As Morgan began to fasten the ribbon around Liara's wrist the way she had been instructed to, leaving a long tail hanging from the asari's hand with which to tie their wrists together later, the elcor minister began again. "With satisfaction, the first step is taken. The greater whole is enriched. All is one. One is all."

"All is one. One is all," the foursome repeated together, as Tevos and Liara finished fastening the ribbons around Aria's and Morgan's wrists.

"Delighted, we continue," the elcor droned on, the monotonous voice so incredibly strange for the occasion that Morgan couldn't help but feel very surreal, even if she did find the whole event very emotional, especially now with the added and welcome pressure of the ribbon around her wrist.

"The apex of our lives comes, we work to preserve the gifts bestowed upon us, and we speak the words," Priest Tehut chanted. "Each day we look for ways to make each other smile. We hold the trust we place in each other sacred and never betray it. We retain open minds and reach for new ways to bring each other pleasure. We work diligently to remain worthy of the love that we have been blessed with. We share our lives, and our pains and burdens feel lighter for it." The elcor fell silent, nodding slowly to the young acolyte who now moved to stand next to Shepard. "Pleased, the second step is made. The universe rejoices in the harmony between two souls united. All is one. One is all."

"All is one. One is all," they all spoke again, now performing the part of the ceremony where the loose ends of the ribbons were bound to the wrists of their partners, wrapped around the other ribbon already there. This was done using biotics only, and Aria and Tevos were done with their part very quickly, having to wait while the young acolyte, Leneosa, who had moved to Morgan's side, performed this part of the ritual in her stead.

"With pleasure, we move on," the elcor minister continued. "The twilight of our lives approaches... -many apologies human-... we reminisce of a lifetime well spent, and we speak the words." Here Morgan had to bite hard on the inside of her cheek not to laugh, of course the elcor could not have known about her extended life span, but even then, the mere mention of it sounded awkward and absurd. "We celebrate each other's triumphs and achievements. We bask in the warmth of the home we have built together. We revel in the joy that our children bestow upon us. We have shared our lives, through the good and bad, and we are stronger, wiser for it."

Leneosa once again stepped up to help Liara complete the final step of the ritual, Aria and Tevos requiring no aid. The biotics flared around the ribbons they were bound with, melding them to assume a form of a colorful bracelet, before the last few threads holding their hands together finally parted and both Liara and Morgan parted their hands, both now wearing beautiful and perfectly matching pair of bondmate bracelets.

"Immeasurably pleased, the third step is made," Priest Tehut spoke again. "The universe calls, and we return to the source. All is one. One is all."

"All is one. One is all," the two newly bonded couples replied in unison.

"With long repressed anticipation, you are encouraged to seal your vows by kissing your bondmates," the elcor intoned, and Morgan quickly jumped to the invitation, before she had started to grin madly about their odd minister again. Liara melded into her embrace with welcomed gentleness, as the two began to kiss deeply and passionately, oblivious to everything around them, Morgan finding that she couldn't quite manage to hold back her tears, but feeling relieved when she opened her eyes to see that her bondmate's cheeks were also covered by fresh tears. _That was just a little bit absurd and silly, but... also so very emotional... gods, I love her so much... I hope I can live up to everything that priest said we should aspire to be for each other._ The comforting weight of the beautiful bracelet gracing her wrist felt very reassuring and simply... right, making her truly believe that she could be everything that Liara wanted her to be.

As Liara and Morgan hastily wiped their cheeks clean, Aria and Tevos went up to thank the priest again, and to extend another generous donation, just in case. The two matrons were obviously better in controlling their emotions for public display, but both still appeared deeply moved as the four of them now stood around the elcor minister while Rila took several snapshots of them with her omni-tool. Garrus was about to do the same, but Aria sent him a little warning glance and shook her head, the turian immediately nodding in understanding.

After the four newly bonded had changed back into their regular clothing, they all met in the temple vestibule to discuss their further plans. "I would really love to take you all out for dinner," Aria spoke. "But, alas, we are all far too recognizable to many here, so I'm afraid that is not an option." She handed one credit chit to Tali and the other to Rila. "There is plenty for you to spend the next two days like kings and queens of Nos Astra. But don't get too careless... you still remember what we discussed last night, Vakarian?"

"Sure thing, Aria," Garrus nodded amiably. Apparently, Aria had brought him and Tali up to speed on what made the two girls so special and why they couldn't let them out of their sights. Not that Rila and Falere had shown any inclination to start trouble, they simply were sheltered, innocent, very attractive and lacked any training to protect themselves.

"I think I spotted a shuttle station nearby as we flew in," the Pirate Queen pointed back to the way they had come from. "You can also rent another skycar. We're taking this one to the estate I've rented. Rila, you have our coordinates, just in case... but try not to need us, alright?"

"Of course, Aria," Rila grinned. "Have fun, all of you!"

"Thanks!" Morgan replied for everyone. "I'm sure we will have fun, and we'll see you in... two days?" she looked at Aria, the asari nodding. "Two days it is!"

* * *

The estate, true to Aria's word, was truly magnificent. It was located at the very edge of the habitable zone of the polar region of Ilium, even a few miles past the recommended area, so that in the peak of the warmer seasons it stood abandoned, but apparently the current season was the equivalent of Thessian spring and the air was very warm but still comfortable. And the location simply meant that they were far away from the curious eyes of others.

The interior design of the estate was a little odd, everything was crammed into one large open hall, save for two massive bedrooms on the opposite sides of the hall, and since there was no second floor to speak off, they were more like two large lofts facing each other. The private loft spaces had a shower and even a proper bath, which gave Morgan a lot of interesting ideas as she couldn't take her eyes off from Liara, her bondmate absentmindedly toying with her bracelet with a dreamy smile on her face. Large window provided a glorious view outside of the estate, with spectacular mountain range in the background. Another window afforded them a splendid view of the common room below as well as the other loft opposite to them.

In the front of the estate was a large and inviting swimming pool, and a little over to the side, under the shadow of trees, there was a small building that Morgan at first thought to be some kind of storage shed. However, upon further exploration, she was shocked and amazed to have discovered an old-fashioned sauna, one of the most remarkable inventions in the history of humankind. Neither of the three asari knew anything about saunas or how it could have ended here on Ilium, but when Aria revealed that the initial owner of this estate had been some human crime lord from Terminus Systems, that mystery was solved. Still, having made sure that the asari could tolerate the temperatures of the sauna, Morgan took it upon herself to introduce them to this wonderful invention that she had herself experienced only once on Earth, but the memories were some of the fondest from her N7 training years.

It had been an early evening when they arrived at the estate, and the next few hours had been spent on exploring the new place and settling in. Aria had been the first to become impatient, then dragging Tevos up to their bedroom to in her own words 'test whether the bracelets made any difference'. Liara and Morgan felt inspired to conduct their own research shortly after, and following plenty of testing were happy to conclude that yes, those little ribbons around their wrists did seem to open up a completely new emotional layer to the entire experience of Joining.

The night passed rather interestingly as well, which Morgan supposed was only fitting for newly-bonded, with nobody getting all that much sleep. While Shepard and Liara had closed the blinds on their windows, the ever shameless Aria hadn't, and time and time again they could catch glimpses of the bright flare-up of biotics as the Pirate Queen and the Councilor apparently were also not in the mood for much sleeping.

Predictably, the next morning Aria was the first to emerge from the loft bedrooms, stretching and groaning as she made her way downstairs, starting to noisily sort through the massive fridge, making sure to wake everyone else up with the noise that she was making. Once Liara and Morgan had gingerly made it all the way downstairs, wearing nothing but simple robes, they discovered that Aria hadn't bothered to dress even that much, standing at the breakfast table and pouring herself some juice while being stark naked. Well, except the bondmate bracelet upon her wrist, which in Morgan's opinion did look very lovely.

"Aria, damn it, put something on, why don't you?" Morgan hissed, glaring at the completely nonchalantly acting matron.

"Why?" the Pirate Queen blinked in honest surprise. "It's nothing you haven't seen, Shepard, unless there's something terribly wrong with Liara," she added with a hearty laugh. "Or maybe you have not watched a certain vid in a while..."

"Oh, do stop that, Aria," Tevos suddenly appeared behind them, Aria getting hit in the face with a spare robe as she turned towards her bondmate. The Pirate Queen sighed, giving Tevos an evil eye as she reluctantly pulled it on, but left it unfastened on purpose, spending the rest of the breakfast complaining about being stuck with a group of boring prudes.

While eating breakfast, they began to discuss their plans for the rest of the day, eventually moving their chat to the large suede corner couch deeper in the main hall, Aria and Tevos perching in one corner of the sofa, Liara and Morgan on the other. A state-of-art home entertainment system stood right in front of the sofa, and since everyone felt lazy, Morgan's suggestion to simply slack off and watch some vids was met with a genuine approval from everyone. Even though Aria insisted on watching her favorite Vaenia sequel, Morgan and Liara voted her proposal down, slightly worried where such debauchery might lead. Nobody was interested in turian war dramas, so in the end they decided for a salarian spy movie, which turned out to be very exciting, even if Morgan couldn't quite accept that Agent 007 might have been green and sporting two odd looking horns.

Sometime during the movie, Morgan noticed that Aria's mind was not entirely on the vid screen. She had subtly pulled Tevos' robe a little apart, her hand sneaking inside the councilor's clothing, fingers dipping under the swell of Tevos' breast and starting their tender exploration, soft pinches and grazing the councilor's rapidly hardening nipple with her thumb. Even though Morgan tried not to stare, she started to experience serious difficulties following the plot of the movie, finding that her head began to turn towards Tevos and Aria on its own volition, her mouth becoming parched from the arousing view. Liara had caught on what was happening as well, squirming next to her, breathing heavily and struggling not to let her hands run loose over Morgan's body.

The expressions on the faces of the two elder asari were a marvel to behold. Aria kept facing the screen the entire time, her chin straight and raised, as if her profile was cut in stone, not a single muscle moving in her face. Only the fingers of her right hand moved barely perceptibly, toying with Tevos' swelling breast. The councilor in turn was having tremendous difficulties at keeping herself in check, and the play of emotions across her face was simply intoxicating. Time and time again her breath hitched slightly, she continuously kept chewing on her lower lip in order not to gasp, her eyes had darkened considerably, half-lidded from the intensifying pleasure.

It did not take much until Morgan and Liara were no longer able to bear the subtle show put on display for them. At one point, Morgan felt Liara's consciousness starting to slowly push at her to initiate a meld, getting a slight glimpse of the thoughts and images on Liara's mind, and it was enough for Shepard to sharply jump up from the sofa, pull Liara up with her and then drag her towards the stairs leading to the loft, accompanied by Aria's satisfied chuckle.

As Morgan and Liara came down from another shared culmination that left them both breathless, they could not help but notice the familiar subtle flare of biotics flashing outside their window. Morgan gingerly got out of the bed and walked up to the window, freezing and letting out a pitiful whimper when she noticed that Tevos and Aria hadn't even bothered to go up to their room. Liara was speaking something to her from the bed, but all of Morgan's attention was on Aria's powerful body writhing on the sofa, the robe cast aside as Tevos' head was fixed firmly between her legs, the councilor's hands wrapped around Aria's hips to prevent her bondmate from lifting herself from the bed. Guided by curiosity, Liara approached Morgan at the window and froze similarly, the spell broken only when Aria finally surrounded to Tevos' pleasurable attentions, pulling her bondmate in her arms as they shared their delight through the meld.

At this point, taking a slightly cold bath began to appear like an enticing prospect to Morgan, and she sneaked away from the bed, leaving a somewhat worn out Liara lounging behind while she began to prepare the bath for use. However, Liara recovered soon enough and decided to join her, discovering that the bath had several settings to produce bubbles, and her explorative mood quickly set in, deciding to experiment with all of the various settings. Having Liara with her in a bubble bath inevitably led to even more enjoyable encounters, despite Morgan's initial intentions to take things a bit easy. They ended up making out several times in the bath, and Liara had got out and was about to rinse herself off in the shower, standing on the wet tiled floor next to the bath, Shepard had looked up to see the asari's body partly covered with foam, exposing patches of gloriously desirable gleaming blue skin here and there, seconds later tackling Liara and setting them both on fire again.

Only much later, when they were back cuddling in their bed, did they both realize how hungry and thirsty they were, Liara making cute little whimpering noises so that Shepard would take pity on her and descend downstairs to raid the generously stuffed fridge, the asari feeling too lazy to do so herself. Sighing, Morgan got out of the bed, wrapped herself in a towel and proceeded to the fridge... only to notice that someone else had the same idea as they had, Aria already busy rummaging in the fridge, obviously having forgotten to dress once again.

"Shall I fetch you a robe, Aria?" Morgan chuckled, having startled the Pirate Queen a little bit.

"Damn it, Shepard, are you really this prudish or is this Liara's bad influence," Aria glared at her. "Stop being ridiculous yourself, you don't have anything I haven't seen before."

Morgan gave a deep sigh, unwrapping the towel from her chest and then fastening it around her hips, leaving her upper body completely bare. "There, better?" she winked at Aria.

"Well, it's an improvement," Aria nodded appreciatively, then returning her attention to the fridge again. "Very nice melons," she added nonchalantly.

"Uh... thanks?" Shepard managed, blush creeping into her cheeks.

Aria pulled back from the fridge, carrying a couple of melons in her hands, putting them down on the nearby table. "I was actually talking about the fruit, Shepard. Someone smuggled it to Omega and I developed a taste for it." She looked as if she was about to turn back to the fridge, but then suddenly brought up her hand to Morgan's breast, gently squeezing it as she experimentally ran her thumb across Shepard's nipple. "But nice pair of tits, too," she added with a wicked grin, before getting back to the contents of the fridge.

"Damn you, Aria," Morgan growled at the amused asari, then casting a quick look up at the loft, noticing Liara standing at the window, wide-eyed, her mouth forming a perfect 'o'. "Geez, now you've gotten me into trouble with my bondmate."

"Nonsense," Aria snickered, taking out a few bottles of drinks for her and Tevos. "She gets turned on by it, you'll see. The moment you step back into your bedroom, she's going to jump on you."

"If you say so..." Morgan sighed, stepping up to the fridge as Aria gave her access, having taken everything she needed. Shepard bent down a little to take a good look at all the various fizzy drinks on offer, wondering which one she could appease Liara with.

"I'm sure of it, and you're welcome," Aria laughed, and suddenly with disbelief Morgan felt herself being slapped on the backside, the Pirate Queen's hand squeezing her butt as she instantly recoiled and then let out a cry of pain as she whacked the back of her head against the upper shelf of the fridge.

"I'm going to get you for this, Aria!" she snarled after the laughing asari, quickly retreating back to her own loft, leaving Shepard with nothing else to do but to make her way back, cursing the irritating Pirate Queen and her insufferably wicked attitude. Only once she had already made it all the way back to the bedroom and stepped inside, did Shepard realize something. "Aw, shit... I completely forgot to actually grab anything from the fridge!"

"Not important now," Liara hissed in a low voice, leaping on her like a crazed panther and tackling her on the ground, ripping her towel away. _Damn... maybe Aria does know what she's talking about... _was all that Morgan could think of, before Liara sent them spiraling into yet another intense meld.

Come the evening time, Aria and Tevos emerged to bug Shepard about finally introducing them to this mysterious sauna that she had gushed so much about the previous evening. When Liara expressed her interest as well, Morgan felt more motivated to get out of the bed and start working on getting the sauna ready, not before explaining one more time just what the whole experience involved. Liara and Tevos seemed very intrigued by the relaxing and purifying aspect of the sauna, while Aria was mostly looking forward to be surrounded by a lot of gratuitous nudity.

Once Shepard had figured out all the operating instructions and temperature settings, satisfied with the readiness of the sauna, she walked back to the three impatiently waiting asari, finding them all lazily swimming around the large pool, under the starry sky, an enchanting view that Morgan wished she could simply stay and savor for hours, her eyes following Liara's languid form in particular, graceful in the way she easily glided through the water. _The Queen of Omega, the asari councilor, and Thessia's most famous daughter, all skinny dipping in a pool before my eyes... there probably would be millions eager to kill just to trade places with me right now... _

"I think the sauna is ready, ladies," she called out, a little regretful for disturbing such lovely view, watching the trio quickly get out of the pool, grab their towels and make a beeline for the sauna. "Don't even think of starting on the upper bench, take the middle at first to get used to the heat!" she called out a warning, quickly following the others.

Removing her bathing suit and setting it aside together with her towel, Morgan entered the by now well heated sauna, finding the three asari perched on the middle bench as instructed, already starting to perspire lightly. "Shame this isn't one of the proper saunas," she said, about to climb up to the upper bench herself, feeling confident she could easily tolerate the heat. "The ones where they use real, proper firewood, I've heard those are the best... but I'm sure this will do just as well."

"So... this is supposed to be relaxing?" Aria asked, a little confused. "Just seems a little pointless... though, the view is nice," she added, running her hand over Tevos' glistening thigh, wiping away beads of perspiration. "Oh, and I just won a bet worth thousand credits regarding you with Tevos, Shepard."

"Oh? Regarding me in what way?" Morgan asked, feeling curious.

"Turns out that carpet really does match the curtains, like I thought it might... so, I won," Aria laughed, leaning backwards to look at Shepard on the upper bench, giving her a broad grin. Morgan found herself briefly deliberating whether she wanted to strangle Aria or just smack her on the crest.

The light banter continued for a good while, mostly consisting of Aria's attempts to embarrass them all, and more often than not succeeding at it. At some point it became slightly too hot and uncomfortable on the upper bench for Morgan and she slipped down to take a seat next to her bondmate. Even if she could have tolerated the heat for a while more, she found it was much more enjoyable to occasionally brush against Liara's body, slick and slippery from the purifying heat. At some point, Morgan overheard Tevos beginning to make sounds as if she was a little short of breath, and this time it wasn't due to whatever ministrations Aria might be performing, so she ended up chasing Tevos out of the sauna, Aria following and eventually Liara and Morgan getting out as well.

"And now for the part that makes sauna the best thing ever," Morgan chuckled, suddenly dashing towards the pool and taking a dive into the water that after spending so much time in blazing heat felt blissfully ice cold. "Oh... so good..." she exclaimed, shuddering with pleasure as she emerged from the water, then laughing as the three asari also reappeared next to her, Liara unable to contain a surprised squeal of delight, Aria and Tevos looking blissful as well.

"Damn it, Shepard... this feels almost as amazing as an orgasm..." Aria gasped.

"You're not going to abandon me for this sauna, now?" Tevos winked at her playfully, to which Aria responded by swimming up to her bondmate and silencing her with a heated kiss.

"Shepard?" Liara asked, as Morgan got out of the pool and started to walk back to the estate to grab some refreshingly cool beverages for them all. "I want to have this... sauna on Thessia at our estate... do you know how to build it?"

"Not really, no," Morgan chuckled, delighted that Liara and the others were so taken with this amazing human custom. "But I know where to look it up. And if you're serious about it, then I insist we're getting the real, proper wood sauna... extra maintenance, but totally worth it."

Deep into the third hour of the delightful experience, Morgan had already lost count how many trips back to the sauna and then running out to dive into the pool they had already made. They were already beginning to run low on the fizzy drinks, and at this point it seemed as if only that could get Aria to call it a night, but the others also showed no inclination to stop and while starting to get a little tired, Morgan wasn't going to be the one to duck out the first either.

Sometime during the night, Morgan and Liara had fallen a little out of synch with Aria and Tevos as far as the pool and sauna rotation was concerned. As Shepard and her bondmate were still swimming around the pool, Aria and Tevos had already sneaked back to the sauna, but Morgan was in no hurry to rush back, pulling herself out of the water and sitting on the stone steps leading into the pool, watching as Liara made graceful circles swimming by her.

"I absolutely love it here," the asari confessed as she continued to swim. "It makes me a little sad, thinking about leaving tomorrow. Perhaps we can come here again sometime in the future."

"I'd love that, and I'm sure Aria and Tevos would like to join as well," Morgan said. "That is, if you had thought about inviting them."

"Of course, they have been delightful company... I must admit, I was a little concerned about Aria and her antics, but... perhaps I have grown so used to the teasing that it no longer bothers me... in fact, I even welcome it..."

"Yeah, I feel the same way..." Morgan smiled happily. "So... shall we head back to the sauna, if you're up for more?"

"I... think it might be prudent if we stayed out here for a while longer," Liara said, making a light coughing noise, Morgan turning around to look at the sauna, groaning as she saw the traces of light biotic flare-up through the small windows.

"Oh god, they're... making out in the sauna?" she couldn't help but to chuckle. "Well, I suppose it was just a matter of time with Aria... anyway, what are we supposed to do until they are done?"

"Well..." Liara said mysteriously, swimming up close to Morgan, her hands slowly parting Shepard's knees as Morgan continued to sit on the stone steps, Liara now settling in comfortably between her legs. "I think I might have a way to keep ourselves occupied..." she whispered, her lips starting to gently work on Morgan's inner thigh, slowly moving towards her centre and Shepard leaned back with a soft moan.

"I think... this beats my previous sauna experience... by a frigging huge margin..." Morgan ground out as Liara diligently set to work on pleasing her bondmate... and shortly after, Shepard was robbed of her ability to speak, closing her eyes and simply enjoying Liara's touch, savoring one of the most memorable nights of their lives...

* * *

On the afternoon of the next day, having finally readied themselves for leaving, all four of them found themselves slightly reluctant to get into the skycar and return to Nos Astra.

"Let's come here again next year," Morgan finally suggested, breaking the spell of happy memories.

"I would love that," Liara reaffirmed what she had already said last night.

"I absolutely insist on it," Aria nodded with fierce determination. "I'm sure we can all take at least a week off for a vacation like this..."

"I could not agree more..." Tevos grinned, pressing closer to Aria and giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. "It will be our special vacation... the galaxy and its problems can wait for at least a week..."


	15. The Long Game

_A/N: Hi everyone, and greetings from sunny (!) Scotland! Due to marvelous modern technologies and gadgetry, you will continue to receive story updates even throughout my vacation. Isn't it wonderful? :)_

In this chapter we finally meet Liara's half-sister, and also some of the antagonists of this story. We already know of the Leviathan, but there are a few other threats to the galactic peace, that are introduced in this chapter. Every good story needs strong antagonists, so I hope this chapter works out well. :)

**Chapter 15 - The Long Game**

_Year 2191 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

Liara's half-sister Aiana was perhaps the oddest looking asari that Shepard had seen in her life. She was taller than most asari Morgan had met, at last half foot on Shiala, who was the tallest in the T'Soni household. The color of her skin was as light blue as Liara's, but she was probably the only asari in the whole galaxy who somehow failed at appearing graceful, she looked gangly and awkward and kept walking into things. Even the tentacles on her crest seemed to be drooping a little sadly, making her look more amusing than outright attractive compared to most asari.

Still, despite Aethyta constantly admonishing Aiana for being utterly hopeless, the tall asari had settled in well during her visit on Thessia. Lita had been rather taken with her aunt, and the two spent a great deal of time playing in the gardens of the estate. Liara seemed to be growing fond of Aiana as well, despite the rather awkward start they had made, at first having difficulties to find something in common, but as they started to talk, the dots quickly connected and if nothing else sprang to mind, they could wax about Lita and her habits for hours. Aiana herself had just entered her matron years at slightly over three hundred and fifty, and had no children herself, understandably feeling extremely shocked upon discovering that Liara had dared to become pregnant at her tender age.

On the evening of the third day following Shepard and Liara's return from the Citadel, Lita had been tucked away to bed, falling asleep immediately after Aiana had sung her a very strange sounding hanar lullaby that to Morgan brought back highly unpleasant memories of her teen years and the cry of a murloc in the ever popular Galaxy of Fantasy extranet game. The grownups had then decided to meet the arrival of night with a small gathering out on the veranda, bringing half a dozen bottles of elassa with them, most of whom would be consumed by Aethyta. Aiana and Liara did not touch alcohol, save for a few sips and only Morgan and Shiala kept company to the matriarch, both refusing to enter a contest to see whether they could keep up with Aethyta's fabled stamina.

"So, Clumsy Kid," Aethyta faced her half-hanar daughter with an amused chuckle. "Have you any more hilarious stories in which you get hopelessly lost?" Aiana made a deep sigh, then grinning, not feeling particularly insulted by her mother's ribbing. She found her own talent for getting lost rather funny, even if at times it made her life a little difficult. "Can you believe that she managed to disappear on the brief trip from the spaceport to the estate?" Aethyta asked, looking at Shepard and Liara, sitting side by side in one of the large and comfy basket chairs.

"But I thought Shiala was with Aiana the whole time," Liara's brow furrowed in confusion.

"I was, but Aiana asked me to set the skycar down during the brief flight here, because she wanted to get out and see the sights up close," Shiala explained, looking a little frustrated and embarrassed from the memory. "The next thing I know after I had opened the doors was that she had disappeared from my sight... took me a while to find her in those overgrown meadows."

"I'm not sure how that happened... I jumped out of the skycar and landed on uneven ground, lost my balance and tumbled down before getting stuck somewhere in the underbrush..." Aiana's shoulders slumped a little as the others merely shared a few smiles with the hapless asari. "I don't know how it happens... it just does... all the time! Mother, I don't know what you were thinking when mapping my father's DNA... but let's just say... I'm glad you are Liara's father and not her mother..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aethyta bristled in faked anger. "Such an ungrateful child!"

"I think if Liara would have developed such penchant for getting lost, that might have had disastrous consequences during the war," Morgan said, then remembering something and quickly adding. "Of course, I did find her deep in the Prothean ruins on Therum, where she had managed to accidentally imprison herself in an ancient Prothean trap..."

"Thank you for mentioning that," she felt Liara's sharp elbow nudging her ribs, as everyone around the table laughed.

"So, Aiana, I can't help noticing how good you are with Lita," Shepard eventually said, looking at Liara's half-sister across the table. "You haven't started thinking about kids of your own? Lita could do with a little playmate of her own age, you know..."

"Oh... oh, I would like that... I think, but..." Aiana stuttered, caught a little flat-footed with the question. "I still haven't found the right father candidate... it's a little... complicated."

"What she means is that she is being courted by two hanar at once and she can't make up her mind," Aethyta sighed. "I keep telling her, why bother making a decision, just keep them both, they don't have any stamina at all, so you might need more than one hanar to attend to your needs anyway."

"Mother, please... I don't think they would be comfortable with such an arrangement!" Aiana protested. "Must you make everything sound so tawdry?"

"Yes, I'm afraid she does," Liara let out a deep sigh. "Do you really have to leave in two days already, Aiana?" she asked a while later, sounding slightly saddened. "I would dearly wish for you to stay with us longer."

"So do I, Liara..." Aiana looked a little glum, but also resolute as well. "But I'm afraid I can't leave my business unattended for more than a week, or my customers will flock elsewhere!" Aiana had explained that she was running a small studio focused on brand design and development, though exactly what that meant for hanar on Kahje, Shepard had no idea, having only very basic understanding of hanar society.

"Nonsense, you just want to get back to squeezing your two hot love-sponges," Aethyta chuckled, making her daughter sputter with indignity.

"...well, they have been getting... restless," Aiana was eventually forced to admit. "They've been both competing by sending me poetry on my omni-tool. It's... embarrassingly awful. I think they are very concerned that I might meet someone on Thessia and not even return to Kahje."

"It is worth considering," Aethyta winked.

"Don't even go there, mom," Aiana glared, before turning back to Liara and Morgan. "Why don't you two visit me on Kahje?" she asked. "It's certainly a very unique place in the galaxy..."

"I actually was on Kahje some six years ago," Liara said. "It was a quick trip to a Prothean ruin while being hounded by Cerberus... but I could not help to notice the unique charms of the planet. So, perhaps we will take you up on the offer, sister," she nodded, having exchanged stares with Shepard.

"Why not?" Morgan shrugged. "With Kasumi and Miranda having made the Spectres now, they will probably take off some workload from me... though, I'm sure it won't be too long before another crisis of galactic proportions makes them call upon me again," she said, then remembering the Khar'shan mission and those memories immediately forced her to become silent, wishing that she wouldn't hear from the Council anytime soon.

"I need to rework some sections of my book about the Protheans, but I do not expect it to take more than a year, two at most," Liara added thoughtfully. "And very soon, we will need to start more serious pre-schooling with Lita... I don't think it would be recommended to begin serious knowledge melds with her just yet, what do you think, dad?" she looked at Aethyta.

"Definitely not, I did not start with Aiana until she was ten... so in four to five years perhaps," Aethyta shook her head. "I know you, Stubborn Kid, and I will be watching you closely so that you don't push the babe too much. And I'll kick your ass when you do, as I promised."

"Well, I hope you would bring Lita with you when you visit me on Kahje," Aiana yawned broadly, quickly covering her mouth in embarrassment. "But I think I'm starting to get a bit sleepy, so I'll just retire. Goodnight, everyone," she wished them all, bending down to kiss her mother on the cheek before leaving the veranda... only to reappear less than a minute later. "Umm..." she said, shuffling her feet and looking embarrassed. "I forgot which one was my bedroom..."

"I thought you didn't have a single sip of the elassa!" Aethyta exclaimed to general merriment. "Shiala," she nodded to the commando leader. "Show that hapless daughter of mine the way back to her bedroom..." Chuckling, Shiala rose from her seat and led the blushing Aiana back into the estate.

"Finally, we are alone," Liara said unexpectedly, in a way that seemed to startle Aethyta, facing her with a curious stare. In response, Liara simply rolled up the sleeve of her robe, revealing the multicolored bracelet upon her wrist, Shepard following her example, sporting a crooked grin. "We wanted to tell you just what we were up to while we were away, but there simply were no appropriate opportunities," Liara smiled.

Aethyta actually looked a little surprised. "Can I see that?" she asked, Liara reaching her hand out across the table as the matriarch leaned closer to examine the bracelet. "Well, I'll be damned. You actually got the real thing... I didn't think they still made them," Aethyta sounded impressed. "Have you heard of the Art of Mani'Nao?"

"Father, I'm a scientist, you should know that I place no stock in divination or similar charlatanism," Liara scoffed, trying to pull her hand away, but Aethyta did not release her hold.

"I have actually been trained in the Art," Aethyta said sternly. "You wish to insult your father by calling her a charlatan? I don't think so," she continued to study the bracelet, eventually releasing it, Liara quickly pulling her hand back and hiding the bracelet under the sleeve. "And now yours, Shepard," she ordered, looking at Morgan in a way that brooked no argument.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Morgan asked, intrigued.

"The Art of Mani'Nao is an ancient method of apparently being able to predict the future based on the edges formed upon the separation of the bracelets," Liara quickly explained. "It is a very old tradition from the age when our people were still mired in old, shamanistic beliefs. Parts of these traditions have been absorbed by other doctrines later, including that of Athame."

"You want to tell me there is nothing special about these bracelets? Then why did you bother getting the authentic ones? It must have been very difficult to get your hands on these," Aethyta said, unaware that the ribbons had in fact been secured by Aria. "I... remember how it was for Nezzy and me... I was skeptical about the whole thing, claimed it was a load of poppycock, but... once we both had those bracelets on, suddenly I felt as if... it changed, intensified everything... you have felt that too, haven't you?"

Liara and Morgan exchanged a quick glance, knowing that Aethyta had summarized their recent experiences with astounding accuracy. "Yes, we have noticed," Morgan confessed quietly.

"And somehow it gives an extra dimension to sex as well, doesn't it?" Aethyta grinned broadly, Liara and Morgan both unable to do much else than blush and nod stiffly. "Yeah, the first time Nezzy and I joined with our bracelets on... wow, such a rush... even the memory of that night still gets me all hot and bothered when I think about it."

"Uh, so... if you and mother had the genuine bracelets as well..." Liara spoke up quickly, obviously unwilling to let Aethyta drag them into another discussion about their sex lives. "Did you use your Art on mother's bracelet to look into what the future held for you two? Did you see that you would both... drift apart?"

Something changed in Aethyta's face as she reached for the glass of elassa and then quickly downed it all in one go. Then she rose from the table, refusing to look at them both as she turned to walk away. "Why do you even ask?" she said bitterly. "I thought you had no time for all that divination nonsense..."

* * *

_Boston, Earth _

"I am confident that she has told us everything she knows," a young man of not more than twenty-five summers spoke, standing at the window of an observation room, behind the one-way mirror that separated it from the interrogation cell on the other side.

"Yes, I am tempted to agree," the woman sharing his company in the observation room nodded slowly. She looked even younger than the man, though in reality was three years his senior. The young woman could be characterized as beautiful in the classical sense, possessing high cheekbones and delicate face framed by wavy locks of brown hair, but her green eyes spoke of ruthlessness and efficiency, holding little warmth. In comparison, the young man was not someone who might stand out in the crowd, looking like a regular middle-management jock in a gray suit and matching necktie.

"What is to be done with her?" the man asked, looking at the woman strapped in the chair in the interrogation room. Her malnourished and beaten frame was currently resting in a deep slumber, body pumped full with sedatives, the tattered rags she was wearing parted in places, enough to reveal that she had once been rather attractive.

"What do you think? Do you believe we can just let her go after this? We can't allow anyone to know that we have been… asking certain questions," the young woman rose from her seat, critically looking over her elegant beige suit, brushing some dust from it, her impeccable appearance strikingly at odds with the ramshackle state of their surroundings, an old, ruined former police station somewhere in Charlestown neighborhood of Boston. The city had suffered greatly at the hands of the Reapers, and large parts had been deemed beyond recovery, ending up abandoned and quickly swamped by the rapidly expanding wildlife. But not everyone had simply forgotten these ruins, less savory elements of the society using the dilapidated buildings for various nefarious purposes… and similarly, this police station, once a bastion of justice, had been repurposed to serve a much darker intent.

The man sighed, nodding reluctantly. "I'll tell the doctor to prepare the injection. At least it will be painless for her."

"You do know that miss Chambers here is the former employee of Cerberus, yes?" the woman asked, her delicate features twisting to form a harsh glare. "Save your sympathy for someone more deserving of it."

"Yeah… I know, Kat… I know, " he sighed again.

"Make sure the body isn't found, Jonathan, " the young woman, Kat, said sternly. "If someone stumbles upon her remains, an investigation will be launched, and maybe news will reach the ears of those whose attention we do not wish to attract… not yet. "

Jonathan shuffled uneasily, before nodding. "I'll take care of it." An uncomfortable silence set it. "The intel we learned from her… do you think it will be enough?"

"I didn't think she would know everything, but I was actually pleased by how much she **did** know," Kat replied, now a confident smile on her perfect ruby red lips. "She did confirm what our spy network has been suggesting for a while now. This asari, Liara T'Soni, took over the Shadow Broker network immediately after her lover, Spectre Morgan Shepard, helped her eliminate the previous Shadow Broker."

"And this T'Soni, you don't think she is still the Shadow Broker?" Jonathan asked. "I didn't think it was a position from which one could retire non-violently…"

"I suspect that she has been the first to successfully do so," Kat smirked. "She and Shepard have a small child and according to our sources, she has remained fairly inactive over the past few years, mostly staying put on Thessia. Also… we have observed that in the years following the Reaper War, the MO of the Shadow Broker and his operatives has… changed slightly. Their interference in the galactic politics has lessened, content merely with observing, and sometimes when the intervention does occur, it appears to carry benevolent motives rather than selfish need."

"Could still be this asari, though, she's a real goody-two-shoes, no?"

"Yes, but she was actually competent. I don't know who is the current Shadow Broker… but they are not as good at their job as Liara T'Soni was. They have made several blunders over the past few years, leaving behind some small bits of evidence, a trail of breadcrumbs… we are at the very beginning of our journey, my dear brother, and we must learn to be patient."

"So who do you think it could be?" Jonathan asked eagerly.

"After listening to what our dear miss Chambers was able to tell us, and combining this intel with what we have learned ourselves… I think the only way how Liara T'Soni would have been able to retire from her role as the Shadow Broker would be by passing the reigns over to someone she knew and trusted, someone from her and Shepard's circle of friends… which narrows the field of candidates considerably."

"That seems likely," Jonathan nodded, rubbing his hands. "So, what's the next step?"

"You still have your people imbedded within the Alliance?" Kat asked, receiving a quick nod. "I want to get my hands on the old archived logs of the Normandy, when T'Soni was aboard the ship."

"That's going to be strongly classified intel, sis," Jonathan shook his head, then relenting slightly. "But… I think we should be able to get it, yes. With this swift recruitment drive and slackening of the Alliance standards, we have managed to get some of our agents into high places."

"Good. With this intel I might be able to narrow down the field of suspects even more… then we'll attach our agents to these suspects for closer observation, and given enough time we will eventually have our man, woman or alien… and then, the Shadow Broker network with all its secrets will be in our grasp."

"Heh… you're a bit scary when you talk like that, Kat," Jonathan let out an uneasy chuckle. "Makes me wonder what happened to that young, innocent student of microbiology I once knew… not to mention my sweet, caring and protective sister."

"I think that innocent girl died on the same day as Shepard and her accomplice went on a rampage through our father's estate, leaving behind scores of dead, including… him," Kat ground out angrily, clenching her fists in tight balls.

"So it's still about revenge, after all these years?"

The young woman fell silent for a while. "Revenge is important to me," she finally said slowly. "But I won't let it distract me from the larger plans that we have… we need to stay patient and committed to the big picture, and if everything works out as we have intended, it will give us the opportunity to deal with Shepard."

"Can't wait for that," Jonathan nodded. "And speaking about the big picture… any developments there?"

"Terra Firma have been in contact again. Looks like all that charity work and kissing smelly orphans is starting to pay off, the esteemed Katherine Hock is in high demand," she chuckled, posing coquettishly. "I'm not committing to anything just yet, though… I don't think that what they have put forward thus far is their best offer…"

"You seriously think they're going to include you for the next Parliament elections? That would be… unheard of!"

"I think Terra Firma know that I can pull in a lot of new voters for them, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility," Katherine shrugged airily. "Not to mention that the elections are still far way off, the construction of New Arc has only just began… as I told you, little brother, arm yourself with patience, and let's strap ourselves in for a ride… it might be a long one, but it's going to take us straight to the top…"

* * *

_The Citadel, Serpent Nebula_

The view of the gigantic space station appeared to the view not long after emerging from the relay of the Widow System. As most of the passengers began to whisper excitedly, crowding the small windows of the commercial transport shuttle, one human female continued to sit in her seat, emotionless, with a slightly vacant look on her face. The Citadel. Heart of the galactic community. It made no difference to her, there were only the tasks _**they**_ had set before her, and there was the occasionally tug at the back of her mind, reminding her of the punishment that would befall her if she failed.

She was certain that she had visited the place before, instinctively knowing where to go once she stopped off board from the vessel, but there were no memories of those previous visits, as if they had been wiped away from her head. Or the tasks that she had performed before… which were probably similar to the ones she was expected to carry out now. Make delivery drops for others to pick up… because she knew there were many others like her, an entire network… and one of her tasks was also to collect the gathered intel from this network, to make critical purchases of items only available on the Citadel, certain pieces of equipment, sometimes manufactured according to the specifics that she had delivered on her previous visits, but the woman no longer had any recollection of it.

There were some lucid moments, far and few between, where she wondered what compelled her to perform these tasks, but then the noose would tighten again, cutting off these thoughts and she would continue her work with a dull, listless look in her eyes. When she managed to regain a sliver of her own consciousness, she was aware that someone was controlling her, making her do all those things, but she could not guess their intent, nor their identity. She only knew that these… Masters of hers were frightening and powerful to be able to do this to her, and the few times that she had tried to speak of them to someone, they had punished her. The pain had been excruciating, and when she had regained consciousness, she had been covered in blood, as if having bled from every orifice, every pore of her body.

_I will not give you a reason to punish me anymore, Masters… please, you must believe me,_ she thought frantically, feeling the tug at the back of her mind slacking a little, letting her momentarily regain some of her mental faculties. _Please, I will deliver these schematics to the Ariake Technologies rep like you requested… I will collect the components manufactured by Binary Helix… I will not think about how they all tie together, and what you are planning to do with all these custom made items… I will not try to guess your intent, or your plans, because I sense your disapproval, and I would never dare to anger you… _

As she waited for her shuttle to the Shalta Ward to arrive, a report running on the nearby galactic news terminal managed to pierce the thick veil clouding her thoughts, attracting her attention. The words of the reporter flew by her ears, barely registering, something about a famous Spectre presiding over the launch of a joint asari-geth venture to explore some dark corner of the galaxy, but she could only focus on one thing, the face of the woman, the freckled cheeks and small, upturned tip of the nose, the ponytail of red hair… _I know… I knew her…_

The memory was brief, but powerful. She felt herself in someplace… pleasantly warm, wearing a short summer dress, turning to find the woman from the news report standing next to her, similarly dressed, her clothes not leaving much to the imagination. She looked exactly the same as in the news roll, save for the look in her eyes… bright, exuberant and excited, not as if she had seen all the horrors of the galaxy and then some more. _A weekend in Rio… rare time off for us both… the things we did together in those precious few hours… _The images in her head shifted now, the memories making her stagger as she saw herself kissing the petite redhead, running her hands all over her body, toying with her breasts, them both clinging tightly to one another. _I love you, _she heard her own whisper, released at the peak of her pleasure… but then she knew only pain, the screw at the back of her mind tightening, forcing that memory away.

_This organic…_ something throbbed through her mind, the intrusion unbearably painful and disconcerting. _This… Shepard. She is of interest to us. You will collect information on her activities. This will be your duty. Do not fail us in this. _

_I will obey, Masters… _she thought frantically, too afraid to do anything else but to agree with the orders, feeling as if her mind might shatter at the continued invasion upon her consciousness. However, the memory of the red-haired woman would not simply go away, or perhaps the Masters would not allow for it to go away, since she needed to remember who to gather information on. _This Shepard… I must have loved her once… I wonder who she is…_ _**they**_ allowed her to think as much, before another question popped in her mind, freezing her with fear and horror_. For that matter… who am I? _

* * *

_Talat, Capital of Sur'Kesh_

The pieces were slowly falling into their places. The tangled web spun by hundreds and hundreds of her intermediaries was starting to close, everything gelling and linking together perfectly, the formation of complicated plots that left her own involvement undetectable… it was beautiful to her. And yet… as she watched the young ones of her own clan, scurrying around on their daily tasks, every action made to strengthen their clan, to improve their floundering fortunes… she felt their actions commendable, but largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

In the years following the Reaper War, her clan had lost a great deal of its influence and strength. As the loudest detractor of the plan to welcome the krogan into the galactic alliance against the Reapers, she was the one to suffer the worst of the blowback. Even some of their closest allies abandoned them, twisting the truth to spin a new tale of having always supported the krogan, of having tried to oppose the powerful Dalatrass Linron, but being unsuccessful when faced with her shortsighted stubbornness.

Their own people had turned on her, marginalized the influence of her clan. This would not stand. And there was only one way to change this. She had to prove herself to have been right, about the krogan, about the genophage, about everything. The galaxy needed to see the krogan for the monsters they were, and she would give them the proof they required. The last pieces were slowly moving into place now, and soon, all that it would require would be a simple word from her, confirming that she wished her agents to forge ahead with the plan.

The krogan had been easy to manipulate, as she thought they would be. It only increased her belief that they were too dangerous to leave unchecked. If she could manipulate them so easily, then many others could do the same. Some clans, like the Jurdon and the Ganar, needed only the slightest invitation to perform acts of violence, their aggressive expansion throughout Kite's Nest had already made the Council and the entire galaxy worried.

Yes, Shepard, that highly irritating and inconvenient human, had stepped in once again, and the krogan had actually listened to her words, instead of being lured to display more aggression, the encouragement whispered through the mouths of her agents. But this was not a peace that would last, her constant prodding, urging, manipulating, spinning lies and propaganda was starting to push the krogan to take up the arms again… it would not be long now until Clan Ganar left the Kite's Nest in search for another worthy enemy now that the batarians were decisively routed.

Come the right time, she would provide them with a suitable target… one that would enrage the Council and the entire galaxy, making them turn on the krogan as well as those who had supported the cure of the genophage, starting with Shepard, and many of her own kin, especially Valern, for his failure to deal with the irritating Spectre under his own command.

In fact… lately, she had been starting to have thoughts that at first she had dismissed, unwilling to consider something so heinous, but they kept returning and pushing them away became almost impossible. Selecting a certain target would ensure full deniability for her actions, especially if someone had been suspecting her influence, unlikely as that was. The target she would paint for the krogan to hit would be a salarian world.

She would be careful in selecting the right colony to sacrifice… one where her clan was in a clear minority, but some of her own children would need to be sacrificed to avoid suspicion. But she could choose a world where her fiercest detractors had heavy presence… like the dalatrass of Valern's clan, making her home on Rannadril. If the krogan struck there and wiped out the councilor's base of power… she could kill two varren with one gunshot… and perhaps then her warnings about the krogan would be heeded, and she and her clan would be vindicated again, able to recapture their place in the power hierarchy of Sur'Kesh.

And perhaps then, she would also manage to unseat Valern from the post she had long since coveted herself. _It would only be fitting, yes,_ the salarian dalatrass thought to herself. _I should have received the nomination long time ago, but instead it was handed to a lowly male… but I will see it changed. Soon, the galaxy will know me as Councilor Linron._


	16. Academic Peer Review

_A/N: Hey, everyone! This is just a little note to make everyone aware that the story takes a little skip two years ahead in time. Also, this chapter introduces an asari OC who will become a part of the story going forward. I'm not going to say too much about her, though – just read the chapter and make up your own minds! ;) _

**Chapter 16 - Academic Peer Review**

_Year 2193 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

Two years had passed, and somehow the galaxy still held in one piece. While no new massive crisis threatened the galactic stability, it did not mean that some kind of a new age of peace and prosperity had been reached. There were still plenty of problems to deal with, and Spectre Morgan Shepard usually found her hands full with troubles that needed resolving and mediation.

Her missions these days centered on curbing the krogan aggression, traveling often to Tuchanka and Kite's Nest to meet with the clan leaders and remind them of their promises to limit their expansions. Their memory spans were not very long, though, and in three to six months she was required to make another visit to remind them again and again. While she did not particularly mind these trips, being received and honored as a hero by most krogan, it did worry her when thinking about what would happen when she was no longer around to knock the krogan back to their senses.

The Council was also busy at work, seeking long-term solutions to this problem. Birth control to avoid the krogan reproducing out of control was something that the krogan councilor had agreed to implement. The more reasonable clans like the Urdnot, the Khel and the Nakmor had gone along with it, but the more warlike clans kept accusing each other of not honoring this agreement, too stricken with paranoia that if they would curb their reproduction, their enemies would increase their numbers and eventually overwhelm them. The whole situation was precarious, and the news of Clan Ganar beginning forays outside the Kite's Nest were growing more frequent, the krogan launching raids to harass the closest salarian colonies. This was worrying, because Ganar were the only clan who had refused to enter any talks, even with Shepard.

Other issues that Shepard was called upon to deal with were continuous work with the geth, Legion often in contact with Morgan to seek her approval of the decisions taken by the consensus and of the path they had chosen for themselves. While Legion had never proposed something that she would find morally unacceptable, it still made Morgan wonder what would happen once she was no longer around, even if she was starting to grow more and more encouraged and generally trusting of the geth. They had successfully mapped two new systems by now, and since one of them held two eezo rich garden worlds, Morgan had suggested that they should build a mass relay to link this new star system to the rest of the galaxy.

Shepard also kept a close watch on the batarian colonies on Lorek and Anhur, worried that they might return to their slaving days of the Hegemony. However, the Council was also aware of this potential threat, and Morgan was very happy to hear from Sparatus that he had placed several Spectres on the new batarian homeworlds, and they had already eliminated several dozen high standing officials of the former Hegemony, just to make sure the batarians did not fall back to their old roots. Now, the leadership of these new worlds was relatively free of the ghosts of old, and those in charge seemed to be guiding their people on a more gentle path, the populations remaining stable and even seeing some growth. As for the batarian diaspora on Omega, Aria had whipped most of them into shape of industrious workers, making sure that they did not cause too many problems.

Even with all these distractions, Shepard was fortunate to spend the largest slice of the past year back home on Thessia with her family. Liara had well and truly immersed herself in Lita's home schooling, and while Shepard wasn't much help with that, she liked to simply be with her bondmate and their daughter during the process, learning something new about the asari every day from hearing Liara teaching Lita. Now and then they also made some appearances in public, visiting cultural events, Morgan in particular enjoying the performances of asari classical music, and they made sure to visit the newly renovated Armali Opera House every month.

They had accepted a few invitations to dinner parties hosted by prominent figures on the Armali political scene, but neither Shepard nor Liara had enjoyed the experience, listening to a crowd of shallow matrons blathering about who had been giving pleasure to whom and how often. Things had gone especially sour when one particularly annoying asari had kept coming on to Shepard very strongly, despite repeated requests to back off. It had enraged both Liara and Morgan, and they had decided to decline any similar invitations after this unpleasant experience, not caring whether they would now be considered creepy recluses for their reticence. They both agreed that being accused of antisocial behavior was preferable to spending their time with vain celebrities seeking their moments of fame at Shepard or Liara's expense.

The others in the T'Soni household were doing just fine, Lita was responding to her lessons well enough, even if she complained about boredom now and then. At the age of six she no longer allowed anyone to carry her, or treat her like a toddler, she was now running around the large estate like a drop of quicksilver, exploring every nook and cranny, looking for new places to hide when her mother came looking for her to start another reading or writing lesson.

Aethyta was in good spirits most of the time, dispensing her unique brand of matriarchal wisdom, as well as being on the lookout for more exploits of the sexual kind. Matriarch Lidanya tended to visit now and then, which was as close as Aethyta was willing to go to having a regular partner, and she also continued to help Shiala with regular melding of minds that seemed to help the commando leader with her persistent headaches, a remnant of the Thorian indoctrination. Aethyta had also laughed herself to tears one afternoon after receiving the news from Aiana, her half-hanar daughter. It had been two weeks before she together with Liara, Morgan and Lita were supposed to visit Aiana on Kahje, when her daughter suddenly informed them that she had bonded with a rich volus merchant, moved to Irune and was now pregnant with her first child. "If that one had a hanar soul name, it would be 'Nothing But Wind In Her Head'," was all that Aethyta had said, pouring herself a generous glass of elassa.

Several months prior, Shiala had taken a rare vacation that Liara was only too happy to grant to her friend, deciding to visit Horizon to spring a surprise on Oriana... only ending up to have a surprise being dropped on her, as she had walked in on Ori making out with another asari, Miranda's sister clearly having moved on from their little Citadel romance. Shiala hadn't been broken up about it, though, the trip had been mostly for Oriana's benefit to make sure the girl wasn't feeling heartbroken after their parting, and when Shiala saw that the young scientist was not exactly still pining after her, it had made the commando only happy and relieved. And if there were some lingering regrets, few trips to Aethyta's bedroom cured her of any sorrows quickly. Shepard had later got a good chuckle after she received a strongly worded message from Miranda, blaming Morgan for infecting her sister with this obsession for the asari.

Tali and Garrus kept in touch regularly as well, and a visit to Rannoch was scheduled for next year. 'Calibrate This!' was still a highly successful extranet show, and Garrus was using its popularity to promote a new activity of his, forming exclusive expeditions to wild and exotic planets with the purpose to hunt rare and dangerous beasts. Tali insisted that he did not organize more than a few of these expeditions every year because they took a lot of planning, were dangerous and parted the turian from her and their children. This meant that getting a spot on these hunting expeditions was very difficult, the interest was overwhelming due to Garrus' celebrity status, and tickets had been known to go for up to million credits as rich and eccentric tycoons fought tooth and nail for the rights to be included into the prestigious event.

Tali was not simply sitting home with the children, though, the two little turians now joined by an adopted quarian girl and boy, forming a tightly-knit if a rowdy bunch of kids. She was actively working with the geth on their project to boost quarian immune systems, looking for volunteers to assist in early experiments, taking part in these tests herself despite Garrus going mad with worry. The preliminary estimation was that the experimental treatment plan would successfully allow the quarians to sufficiently bolster their immune systems within twenty years, but Tali and her geth coworkers were confident of being able to drastically reduce this time.

The third and fourth human Spectres were also keeping in close contact with Shepard on work related matters, and in case of Kasumi, also on personal level. Two more humans had made Spectres in the previous year, both N7 graduates, but Morgan did not know these Alliance officers, and as such had little contact with them. She knew that Hackett had planted Miranda to keep an eye on what was going on in Sol System, and Miranda was slowly expanding a network of contacts there, keeping her hand on the pulse and monitoring the situation, letting Hackett always remain updated about any potential trouble heading his way.

And the situation on Earth remained tense, still lacking one centralized government, the general elections getting postponed until the construction of the Arcturus Nova Station, commonly referred to as New Arc, was completed. Much to Shepard's dismay and irritation, most regional governments had kept the geth involvement in planetary restoration to minimum, in some cases refusing the aid of the helpful synthetics completely. Because of such decisions, several large and prosperous cities like San Francisco, Mexico City, Berlin, had been totally forsaken, local officials deciding against rebuilding them at all. Miranda claimed that the dislike towards the geth had one very simple reason. Following the war, construction companies had sprung up like mushrooms after the rain. These companies had no interest to see some helpful alien robots swoop in and do all the work for them, taking away all the lucrative government contracts up for grabs. The industry lobby worked overtime, bought every politician that needed buying, and eventually the pressure on Hackett piled so high that he was forced to inform Legion that the geth were no longer welcome on Earth.

Kasumi remained stationed on the Citadel, and for the past year had actually been assigned to work together with her salarian boyfriend, Spectre Jondum Bau, on some kind of extremely complicated case given to them by Valern, the salarian councilor. Given Kasumi's propensity to gossiping, Morgan had expected to learn all about what she and Bau were up to, but surprisingly it appeared as if Kasumi was taking her new Spectre duties very seriously and would not speak of her mission at all, while at the same time talking Morgan's ear off over hundreds of other trivial issues.

They remained constantly in touch with Aria as well, and when the Pirate Queen was too swamped with running her empire, Rila and Falere took over almost as her secretaries, keeping Shepard and Liara up to date with as much information as they were allowed to share. They had visited the Ilium estate again, exactly one year after their bonding ceremony and spent a whole glorious week of vacation there, simply lazing about, enjoying each other's company, listening to Aria's constant tawdry comments, and spending their days in glorious hedonistic debauchery. However, this year, Aria claimed to be too busy to take a vacation, much to the disappointment of all Tevos, Liara and Shepard. Apparently the Pirate Queen was working on a secret project that even the girls were not allowed to speak of, preparing some kind of surprise for them all.

And then there was, of course, the most important person in Morgan's life, the adorable and ever-lovely Dr. Liara T'Soni, now also known as the author of the popular and commercially successful book 'The Prothean Connection'. Indeed, amongst the time-consuming work of raising and teaching their daughter, Liara had finally released the book several months ago, upon much prodding from her volus publisher.

The reviews had generally been very positive, especially from the mainstream press, where the profit-driven volus had hoped to reap the most benefit. Liara herself was mostly interested in the more detailed reviews from her scientist peers, and those were generally encouraging as well. A few remarked that the book was commercialized too much, and as such had lost some of its scientific value, but they were understanding of the reasons why it was done, to ensure interest of a wider public. But there had been one particularly scathing review published recently on the extranet site of the renowned Serrice University that had upset Liara greatly, even if she tried not to show it.

Her reaction had been unexpected to Shepard. Liara had tried to arrange a meeting with this scientist who had smeared her book, eventually managing to talk the other asari into visiting them at the T'Soni Estate so that they could discuss Liara's book at more length. Now, as they awaited this irritating critic to arrive, Shepard was sitting at a lavishly decorated and laden dinner table, clenching her fists and pondering whether she would be able to restrain herself from punching the other asari in the face for upsetting her bondmate so badly. _Bah... but she made me promise that I would behave... damn it. Well, if that hussy tries anything... I guess Liara could kick her ass easily herself, but... ugh, why does she even want to treat nicely someone who wrote such crap about her... if it was me, I'd send them a strongly worded letter with advice on how to violently insert sharp objects into their rectum. _

The estate cook had prepared some of her most exquisite meals, and Liara had even dared to ask her father to stay away and not ruin everything with her crass comments. Aethyta had blinked a little at Liara's determination and ferocity, eventually laughing and claiming that she couldn't give a shit about all that science bullcrap and agreed to take Shiala and Lita on a two day trip into the nearby mountains, staying overnight in one of the many comfortable hillside lodges. And now, Shepard sat in her seat at the end of the dinner table and watched her bondmate nervously pacing back and forth, waiting for this... irritating scientific rival to show up.

"Maybe she decided not to come after all," Shepard suggested, watching Liara taking a peek from the window of the estate to see whether a skycar was approaching. "Maybe she got afraid that this was a trap and that the scary human would eat her liver and then play xylophone using her ribcage?"

"Xy... what's a xyloph-" Liara began to ask, but then stopped in an instant, seeing a skycar appearing in the distance, eventually landing on the pad in the courtyard, two of their commando guards approaching to help another asari climb out of the vehicle and then escorting her to the estate entrance. "Shepard, get over here!" Liara urged Morgan to join her by the doors to meet their guest together.

"Geez, I can't even remain sitting?" Morgan grumbled, walking over and standing next to her bondmate, as the doors opened and the commandos let in Liara's fellow scientist.

"Dr. Kavani, I'm very pleased that you could join us," Liara said, keeping the tone of her voice pleasant and polite as she took the other asari's hands in a slightly stiff formal greeting.

"Dr. T'Soni," the other asari replied, also sounding amiable at least for now. "And you must be Spectre Shepard," she added, turning to Morgan. "Cyntria Kavani, pleased to meet you."

"Likewise, Dr. Kavani," Morgan replied, shaking the offered hand. For some reason, she felt that the asari's voice had seemed a few degrees colder when addressing her than when speaking with Liara. Morgan wasn't sure what to make of this asari at the first sight, she had expected to meet a bitter, haughty matron, but from the lack of facial markings it appeared that Cyntria was still a young maiden. She was not wearing any jewelry and was dressed in a simple green robe with yellow stripes, contrasting nicely with her blue skin, a few shades darker than Liara's, but not quite reaching the purple hue. There was nothing remotely pretentious or arrogant about this asari from the first impression, which only served to confuse Morgan even further.

"Would you do us the honor and join us at the dinner table, Dr. Kavani?" Liara asked. "You must be starved after traveling all the way from Serrice."

"Yes, it is very kind of you to offer," Cyntria Kavani nodded, allowing Liara to lead their guest to the table and show the other scientist to her seat. Shepard followed them, shaking her head in wonderment, having expected that the atmosphere would be more hostile.

The next half an hour was spent eating and exchanging polite small talk about the weather, recent political twists of the e-democracy and Cyntria explaining the situation of post-war Serrice to a very intrigued Liara, having spent there many years during her study years.

"The Reaper invasion led to many losses amongst the university staff," Dr. Kavani explained, as they moved away from the dinner table to continue their discussion in one of the smaller studies, filled with many bookshelves storing ancient religious texts, legacy of the T'Soni clan and Cyntria looked at them with an almost hungry stare now and then. "What... is that noise?" she then asked worriedly, hearing a loud crash somewhere outside the estate.

"That's the reason why we are not sitting outside on the veranda as we normally do. Ever since someone has bought the neighboring estate, they have been working on rebuilding it day and night," Shepard quickly cut in with an explanation, wincing as she heard another loud bang coming from the construction site, the sound penetrating the walls of the T'Soni Estate. "We've complained to the Armali City Council several times, but with no result," she grumbled.

"I see," Cyntria nodded. "Well, as I was saying, we lost so many of the established professors that it has been a struggle to resume normal order of study routine. Our plan to bring in salarian professors from Sur'Kesh to compensate in the particularly depleted fields failed spectacularly, as I predicted it would. We, asari, are simply unused to process so much raw information in a short period as the salarians do, the structure of their study courses did not suit our students at all. In fact, it made our people look... very slow in comparison."

"Lita's education currently takes so much of my time, but once she is in school, perhaps I could help my old university in some capacity," Liara mused thoughtfully, missing the suddenly cold expression in Kavani's eyes, but it passed quickly. _For the love of god, don't suggest to help out with the lectures on Prothean history,_ Shepard prayed inwardly. _I'm pretty sure that's the field of this bitch, and you won't make friends with Dr. Kavani by making her think you're after her job!_

"I believe the Department of Historical Sciences is the only one fully staffed right now, Dr. T'Soni," Cyntria eventually said flatly.

"Oh... yes, of course, and I am very glad to hear that," Liara quickly corrected herself. "I assume that the Prothean studies fall under your supervision, Dr. Kavani?"

"That they do, as part of the entire field of ancient history," Cyntria replied proudly. "My own specialty is paleography, but my qualifications as well as necessity has required me to... branch out, so to speak."

"I'm very impressed," Liara smiled. "That is a great deal responsibility for someone so young."

Cyntria gave Liara an odd stare, looking uncertain whether her words had been meant as a slight by indicating that someone so young couldn't possibly do an adequate job, but then she forced a smile on her lips, nodding stiffly. "Thank you, Dr. T'Soni. Considering your own achievements, I did not think that you would suggest that age might be a limiting factor... I can assure you, my qualifications are more than adequate. Perhaps you are unaware, but I am a graduate of the SU myself, just as you are."

"I know that you are more than qualified, Dr. Kavani," Liara cut back quickly. "I understood that immediately from the way you trashed my book."

"It was nothing personal," Cyntria backpedalled defensively. "I merely pointed out its flaws for the greater benefit of the scientific community." The look on Liara's face suggested that she didn't quite believe it.

"I do not think that your criticism involved a single factual error," Liara pointed out calmly. "Perhaps you could humor me and we could go over the things you found unacceptable together? I understand that the commercialization of the book, the romanticized idealization of the Protheans, is something that you strongly disliked?"

"Of course I did," Cyntria said coldly. "You travelled with a living Prothean, Dr. T'Soni... you had access to the kind of information the rest of the scientific society could only dream of, forced to feed on scraps, fighting for access to Prothean artifacts! Was this really the most you could get out of him? I confess, I am very disappointed..."

"Javik was not always very forthcoming about sharing his knowledge," Liara replied, for now remaining patient. "Upon further examination of his words, I also came to understand that considering his time of birth, his own view of the Protheans and their empire was very skewed."

"You allowed an amazing opportunity to slide through your fingers, Dr. T'Soni," Cyntria shook her head at Liara, then turning to Morgan with an icy glare. "And Shepard, did you really have to get the Prothean killed? To treat such a treasure trove of knowledge as a common foot soldier? You committed a crime in the eyes of scientists everywhere, this Prothean should have been protected and saved for further study, not thrown at the Reapers like cattle for slaughter!"

Shepard barely managed to control herself not to lean closer to Dr. Kavani and reward her insolence with a slap in the face. _What a bitch! I wish Liara would let me kick her ass and throw her out of the estate. Damn... if only we could have locked her in a small cabin together with Javik for a month or so, then she'd appreciate what kind of 'treasure' that Prothean was._ "It was his choice to be there," she eventually shrugged her shoulders, noticing Liara giving her a pleading look. "I cannot keep my allies imprisoned against their will, not even for the benefit of the science."

"I also wish I could have been able to learn more from Javik's experiences, Dr. Kavani," Liara said, a little sadly. "His loss was tragic, and I regret it deeply."

"There was an easy way for you to gain access to what he knew, and you know it, Dr. T'Soni," Cyntria pointed out accusingly. "You should have melded your consciousness with his, it was as easy as that."

"No," Shepard snarled angrily, slamming her fist on the table and making the empty glasses jump, startling the two asari. "That was not going to happen, I would not have agreed with it."

"And I would have never even considered or suggested it," Liara added sternly.

"If you cannot take such a small sacrifice, how can you call yourself a scientist?" Cyntria sneered, making Shepard seethe in anger. "Fine, we will not discuss this anymore, I am aware of your stance now."

"Yes, I regret that you find it so upsetting, but I will stand by my decision," Liara snapped, also growing a little irritated. "But you had more complaints about the book..."

"Plenty more complaints, indeed," Cyntria Kavani nodded. "Dr. T'Soni, it seems to me that with this book you wanted to please both the lay public and your peers amongst the scientists. But you can't have it both ways. If you truly and desperately want the respect of your peers, then you need to take the rest of us a little bit more seriously."

"But I am-"

"No, you are not," Kavani rudely cut Liara off, making Morgan's hackles rise again, as she mentally pictured this irritating asari used as a pinata for Lita's next birthday. "You think you are deserving of special respect and gratitude from the scientific community, every word in your book oozes with entitlement! You demand respect, but you are unwilling to show any respect in turn."

"That is a lie," Liara raised her voice as well now. "I respect my peers greatly, if I did not, I would have not written this book in hopes that other researchers would find this information useful!"

"Tell me, Dr. T'Soni... how come that your work does not contain any references to the works of others done in this field?" Cyntria asked coldly.

"Because she knows more about the Protheans than the rest of the galaxy combined?" Shepard spat angrily.

"Oh, I'm sure Dr. T'Soni believes so," Dr. Kavani refused to be intimidated. "She believes that she is so great that it absolves her from doing any peer review at all! Tell me, Dr. T'Soni, have you read the research of Dr. Cayce and Dr. Oloy from studying the Prothean ruins on Kopis, before they succumbed to indoctrination? Are you familiar with the hypothesis of the salarian astrophysicist Kritosi regarding the network of mass relays and the rate of expansion of the Prothean Empire? Those are some of the most influential works in the field where you want to position yourself as the most knowledgeable expert. Are you familiar with my work about the influence of Inusannon technology on the development of the Prothean culture?"

"No. No, I have not read any of these studies... I am sorry," Liara confessed quietly.

"You would have found them very illuminating, I'm sure," Cyntria continued. "Your own book in many places confirms their findings, and while I do not intend to accuse you of plagiarism, I think that you missed an opportunity to help some of your peers gain recognition that they so richly deserve."

"I... I will correct this mistake at the very first opportunity," Liara agreed, a little meekly. "Fortunately the extranet version of the book can be updated very swiftly."

"I suppose you want some of that recognition as well, Dr. Kavani?" Shepard smirked at their asari guest, chuckling inwardly at the cold stare immediately sent in her direction.

"Hardly," Cyntria snapped. "But there is something that you both should know. Dr. T'Soni was not the first to pose her theories about Prothean extinction. Three years before her, I brought similar hypothesis before the professors of the Serrice University."

"I did not steal your ideas, Cyntria, surely you don't think I would do something like that!" Liara looked at the other asari desperately.

"No, I know you did not, Liara," Cyntria replied, a little more kindly now, probably sensing that Liara was becoming very upset. "But if you thought that you were ridiculed for your ideas... you have no idea what they did to me. I was not a T'Soni... I could not hide behind the shield that was the influence of my mother. I came from a poor family that could barely afford to send me to the SU. And when I leaked my ridiculed research on the extranet... they wanted to throw me out of the university for bringing the name of SU in disrepute with these wild theories. After a lot of begging, they allowed me to keep my place... but they stripped me of my stipend. Like I said, my family was very poor... and I had to do some horrible things to keep myself afloat... things I can barely bring myself to remember..."

_Whoa, no wonder someone has a chip the size of Mount Malinio on her shoulder_, Shepard thought, watching Liara's face reflecting equal parts of shame, embarrassment and sympathy. "I'm sorry, Cyntria, I had no idea..."

"I know, and I don't blame you for your ignorance," Cyntria nodded curtly. "But I wanted you to understand a few things. How do you think I got the job I have now, Liara? Only because all of our old professors have perished, if even one of them had survived, they would have never agreed to accept me amongst them, because I had dared to defy them..."

"Perhaps we could have had this talk before you submitted your scathing review, Cyntria?" Liara only asked after that, Shepard nodding vigorously in support.

"Perhaps... it was not my intention to upset you, whether you believe it or not," Cyntria shrugged. The look she gave to Liara was slightly warmer, but as she rose from the table and turned to Shepard, her eyes were brimming with cold, hateful antipathy that surprised even Morgan. _That's a bit odd, I mean, she doesn't even know me at all... wonder what's up with that._ "But I believe it is time for me to take my leave... please, do not bother to see me out, I will find the way. I thank you for your company." And with that, the young asari spun on her heal and stormed off, leaving Liara and Morgan sitting at the table, both looking a little confused.

"What a complete and utter bitch," Morgan sighed a good while later, pouring herself a glass of elassa.

"Yes, I have to agree with that sentiment," Liara nodded. "But she is also correct about some things. I did not consider that by making myself appear as the ultimate source on all things Prothean, I would cause a lot of bruised egos amongst my fellow scientists."

"Well, you do know more than anyone else about the Protheans," Morgan muttered, unwilling to accept that this irritating hussy now making her way back to Serrice had been right about something.

"That may be so, but I also want to have amiable relations with my fellow scientists," Liara replied, thoughtfully tapping her fingers against the surface of the table. "Perhaps I can salvage the situation by following her advice... at least it doesn't look as if too many scientists have been upset by my book. In fact, it might actually be interesting to read some of the theories my peers have come up with."

"She was actually giving a more hostile stare towards me, and looked less angry with you," Shepard remarked a while later. "Any idea what's up with that?"

"Hmm? No, I did not notice that at all... are you sure?" Liara looked uncertain, but Morgan nodded firmly, confident of what she had felt. "That would be odd... perhaps she really does blame you for getting Javik killed, but that would be very... unreasonable, I doubt she is even aware of the circumstances of his passing."

"Indeed," Shepard said as they continued to sit at the table, both deep in thoughts, not entirely sure what to make of their guest. "Do you think she might cause problems for you in the future?"

"I do not think so. I can't imagine how or why," Liara shrugged, then growing ponderous. "Then again, we have learned not to rule anything out... as I have heard your people say... fate is a fickle mistress."


	17. Love Thy Neighbor

**Chapter 17 - Love Thy Neighbor**

_Year 2193 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

Aethyta stretched, taking in deep breaths of the fresh morning air, soft breeze carrying the scent of the nearby lake surrounding Armali. She was taking a slow walk around the estate and the sprawling gardens that surrounded it, a new habit of hers that she had developed over the past few years. Every morning after having breakfast with her daughter and her granddaughter, Shepard, and Shiala, she would set out for this short walk, her body desperately demanding this activity, requiring more effort to get itself started for a brand new day.

Her time was slowly approaching, and she knew it, faced it without regrets. She estimated having a century left to her, maybe two at most... the humans like Shepard would still consider it an eternity, but for her people, these were the twilight days, when the call of the oceans grew louder in her bones, calling on her to return to the ancestors, to become one with them again. It was almost her time... but not yet. The call was still easy to ignore, and she dealt with it the only way she knew. If Lidanya was not on Thessia, then it was Shiala's turn to share her company, or one of the younger commandos under Shiala's guidance.

It was not a service she could or would ever demand, but they all responded willingly, eager to learn something new from the knowledge that Aethyta had gathered over the past millennia. And Aethyta in turn felt rejuvenated from the enthusiasm of the young maidens, throwing themselves so completely into these sensual encounters, wanting to please her as best as they could, it was a mutually beneficial experience. And Lidanya's company was welcome when she wished to entertain herself with a more knowledgeable partner who had her utmost trust, someone who could give almost as good as she got.

Things were completely different with Shiala. Pleasure was still being given and received in return, but their time together was more about allowing the tortured commando to heal. She could do very little to help Shiala keep her biotics stable, but the newest medication from Sirta was very promising. As for the vivid dreams and headaches that still occasionally plagued the Thorian's victim, Aethyta knew techniques of old that often helped, even if they had not been specifically developed for the Thorian. In a few years, Aethyta was confident that Shiala's health problems would be a thing of the past, and the memories of the Thorian that they had together began to lock away where they could cause no harm, would finally be purged and allow Shiala to lead a normal life.

As she continued her slow walk, her ponderous thoughts were rudely interrupted by loud crashing noises coming from the neighboring estate, and to compound her annoyance, someone nearby also began to work a drill, creating a true cacophony of noise. _I really should track down the new owner of that estate and give them a piece of my mind... or fists, at the least, _Aethyta thought angrily. _Can't believe the city council would stonewall me and Liara on revealing who this owner is, completely preposterous. Hmm... I think I could easily scale that fence with my biotics, walk over there and demand that the workers tell me who's in charge... it's starting to get a bit too ridiculous, so yes, I believe that is exactly what I will do! _

With her patience completely exhausted, Aethyta strode up to the high fence, jumped up to hold on to the top of the wall, before easily pulling herself up with the aid of the biotics. _Aha, it's just as I figured,_ she thought angrily, observing the 'battlefield' before her, construction workers of all species running back and forth, busy like ants. _Complete renovation and those bastards are also building a huge swimming pool... that's what the drilling is for! Who could afford this, it must be costing millions! _

Suddenly, Aethyta found herself caught by a flash of biotics and launched up in the air. _Oh... crap!_ Flailing through the air as she fell, the matriarch managed to put up her biotic barriers, softening the landing, but the bush that she fell into still managed to prick her buttocks somewhat painfully.

_Right, time for revenge,_ Aethyta decided with stubborn determination, striding towards the fence again. Whoever had attacked her, was standing right behind the fence, Aethyta was certain that she could sense someone there, and so she launched a well aimed singularity field in a wide arch, connecting with the intended target on the other side, pulling them up and over the fence, into her view.

"I should have known," the matriarch shook her head, watching a very familiar and slightly irate looking asari floating above the fence, and slowly drifting over into the T'Soni Estate territory. "Aria 'Shit-For-Brains' T'Loak," she glared at their new neighbor.

"Put me down this very instant, you crazy half-krogan," Aria demanded angrily. "Wait, on second thought-" she tried to add, having remembered that she was still drifting about three yards above ground, but it was too late, with a broad smile Aethyta allowed her biotics to dissipate and Aria ungracefully dropped to the ground with a pained grunt as she landed in a flowerbed.

"Like I said, shit for brains," Aethyta laughed. "Now, what the hell are you doing over there, T'Loak?"

"That's hardly the way to welcome your new neighbor," Aria muttered, having spat out a generous amount of soil from her mouth.

"Hmph," Aethyta scowled, unimpressed. "Not sure I approve of someone like you hanging around the place. I swear, if you end up corrupting the kid, I'm going to shove something sharp up your tight little ass, T'Loak! And no, it's not going to be kinky... it's going to hurt a great deal!"

"Hah, another protector of Liara's virtue?" Aria laughed. "How very amusing!"

"I didn't mean Liara, stupid, I was talking about little Lita," Aethyta glared. "By Athame's tits, Liara could do with some serious corrupting, though I would question your success in this endeavor. And what do you mean by 'another' protector? Shepard?"

"No, you just reminded me of her mother... your old bondmate," Aria said, chuckling. "You know that Benezia had the gall to threaten me in my own lair, in the Afterlife in front of many others? I guess she was firmly convinced that I wasn't going to kill Thessia's most promising matriarch and risk invoking the wrath of the entire galaxy."

"Really? That's so unlike Nezzy, why did she threaten you like that?" Aethyta asked, now very curious.

"Benezia had some kind of business on Omega and she wanted to ask for my aid in setting up a meeting with someone. For some reason, she had brought Liara with her, I think she was bringing her to some digsite or something in a nearby system," Aria began to explain. "Now... Liara was maybe eighty-five, not more than that... but she was the sexiest wide-eyed innocent wonder I had laid my eyes on in a century... I couldn't stop myself from making a few comments, that in retrospect were ill-advised."

"Such as?"

"Something about showing Liara everything that Omega had to offer, including the kind of pleasures that made Benezia herself blush when hearing my description of just what I had in mind with Liara... and for some reason, your ex-bondmate had some objections to that! I always thought she was wimpy, but I made a mistake of forgetting that threatening someone's children can make them pretty seriously pissed off."

"I'm not bloody surprised, Shit-For-Brains... Nezzy was always extremely protective of Liara. Just as Liara will probably be overprotective of her daughter... it runs in the family," Aethyta laughed.

"I even offered her a bet that sooner or later I would get Liara to share my bed," Aria laughed at the memory. "That's when she ended up threatening me with my own pistol..."

Aethyta chortled at the mental image of Benezia holding Aria at gunpoint. "Well, it's a good thing you didn't make that bet, you would have never won it," she added. "Liara is still walking into walls when someone merely mentions Shepard."

"Hmm, I sense a challenge..." Aria gave Aethyta a slightly lecherous grin. "If Nezzy wouldn't take me on that bet, maybe you will?"

"Not a chance," Aethyta shook her head. "And I'm warning you, Shit-For-Brains, if you start messing around with some stupid intrigue and make my Stubborn Kid unhappy, I'll be really pissed. And Shepard... she's an alright sort too, for a human... I won't stand for you getting in their way with your stupid games."

"That's not what I intend to do at all," Aria shook her head, a confident smirk appearing on her lips. "But sooner or later Liara is going to ask me for it herself."

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter already, T'Loak!" Aethyta looked a bit irritated by now. "That's not happening, either!"

"Take a bet on it, then?" Aria stared her down challengingly. Aethyta hesitated. "What if I make it worth a million credits?"

"You're insane, T'Loak. Easiest credits I've ever won," Aethyta finally gave in, shaking Aria's hand. Deep down, however, she felt a little apprehensive of the confident grin on Aria's lips. _Have I missed something here? _She thought frantically. _Does she know something I don't know? She does look awfully confident about it... or is she just posturing to get under my skin, as she always does? I imagine a million credits is peanuts to her, but... fuck, I don't actually have million credits to my name right now, do I?_

"By the way, Aethyta, what's your longest monogamous streak?" Aria suddenly changed the topic. "We just hit the eight year and I feel like I've already exceeded all the expectations I placed upon myself."

"I never fucked anyone else while I was with Nezzy," Aethyta shrugged. "So, I guess that's your answer, a hundred or so years."

"Crazy," Aria shook her head. "Considering how it ended, maybe you both should have."

"Maybe... but we'll never know now," Aethyta sighed, unable to keep sadness from seeping into her voice. She didn't particularly want to discuss Nezzy with this lewd creature called Aria T'Loak, but she knew that the Pirate Queen didn't really mean anything by her sometimes too intrusive inquiries.

"Don't be so glum, old girl, you know that if Benezia was still around, you'd still be washing floors and wiping empty glasses in the Eternity Lounge on Nos Astra," Aria chuckled. "She'd never let you near Liara. But at least now you have your daughter back, your status restored to respectable once again and young maidens are throwing themselves at your feet for scraps of wisdom… ah, life must be good compared to what it was on Ilium, yes?"

"To be perfectly honest, T'Loak, I really don't feel like discussing Benezia or anything about my life with you," Aethyta glared at Aria, crossing her arms on her bosom. "I think the last two private conversations between us ended in a bloodshed. Sure, it was over two centuries ago, but considering how badly I kicked your ass, you might want to drop the subject."

"You? Kicked my ass? Ha, that's not how I or people of Omega remember those stories," Aria replied challengingly.

"Yeah, people of Omega also believe in the story of you being twelve centuries old and similar other silly legends that you feed them with," Aethyta scowled.

"Well, it didn't help that you were acting like a complete bitch back then," Aria didn't relent.

"Watch who you're calling a bitch, dirty little whore," Aethyta shot back.

"Bitch!"

"Whore!"

Their intelligent debate filled with matriarchal wisdom, clever witticisms and exquisite insults was interrupted when suddenly another voice rang out nearby. "Nana! Nana!" something small and excited was bounding on its way towards them through the labyrinthine paths of the gardens, eventually the small asari child tumbling through one of the bushes and landing at their feet. "Ooof," Lita said with a very serious expression on her face, before noticing that Aethyta wasn't alone. "Oh, hi… Nana, who's that?" she gave Aethyta an expectant stare.

"Our new neighbor, it seems," Aethyta replied, a little sullenly. "She was just leaving."

"Nonsense," Aria laughed amiably, smiling at Lita. "I actually have a present for you, little one… hold on, I'll just be a moment…" and with that, Aria used her biotics to quickly scale the fence, leaving Aethyta and Lita behind in a slight puzzlement. Aria reappeared not a minute later, carrying a large box in her hands as she landed in the ruined flowerbed in front of Aethyta and Lita.

"Mommy told me not to accept gifts from creepy one-eyed strangers," Lita glared at Aria as she held out the box to her.

"Well, kiddo, much as it pains me to say it, Aria's not really a stranger," Aethyta admitted, and Lita took it as an invitation to greedily grab the box and starting to eagerly examine it.

"Nor am I one-eyed," Aria laughed, taking off her eye-patch, revealing an eye underneath it. "Got a cybernetic implant four years ago, can't really tell it from my real eye," she explained to Aethyta's unspoken question. "I can pop it out if you want to take a closer look at it? I'll even let you hold it!" she offered to the kid.

"Yes! I want to see the cool cy… cyborg eye!" Lita squealed in delight.

"No! Damn it, Aria, stop being so gross," Aethyta glared at the Pirate Queen, ignoring the sulking stare Lita sent her way. "Why are you wearing the eye-patch then, anyway?" she turned to Aria again.

"Because Tevos finds it a massive turn-on," Aria grinned.

"Oh, please… there's not much that doesn't turn on Tevos," Aethyta rolled her eyes. "We used to joke about her centuries ago, how that one ground her way to the Councilor's seat using her hips."

"Hey! She was never that promiscuous!" Aria protested, determined to defend her bondmate's honor.

"Alright, alright, keep your tight leather pants on," Aethyta smirked, finding Lita tugging on her robe and interrupting her.

"Nana, just look at this!" the child raved, and Aethyta turned to find herself staring into the barrel of a toy shotgun. "Isn't it great?"

"Hey, that is a very nice replica indeed!" Aethyta nodded approvingly. "And so fitting for Aria to give you a shotgun as a gift… where did you get it, T'Loak?"

"Oh, one of the many toy factories on Omega is making these… turian kids go absolutely crazy for this kind of stuff, and humans and krogan like them too," Aria grinned. "I think this kid looks pretty damn excited as well."

"Yes, she has the instincts to make a fine huntress in a few centuries… unless her mother decides to pamper her. In fact… I think there's someone trying to sneak up on us," Aethyta pointed at the thicket of bushes nearby, having detected a slight movement of someone approaching and trying to remain stealthy. "Go get 'em, kid!" she urged Lita on, the little asari tightly gripping the toy and carefully tiptoeing towards the shrubbery.

"Who goes there?" she challenged boldly. "Come out and I promise to shoot you!" Aethyta shook her head sternly and Lita quickly moved to amend that command. "I promise **not** to shoot you… but Nana, that's no fun…" she pouted.

"Nothing but us, wascally wabbits here," Shepard laughed, sticking her head out from the underbrush, finding herself staring down the barrel of a toy shotgun, small laser dot dancing between her eyes.

"Piu!" Lita cackled victoriously, pressing the trigger. "Piu! Piu!"

"Gah!" Shepard made an exaggerated groan and collapsed limply out of the bushes, before rearing her head and laughing as Lita playfully tackled her, ending up sitting on her back and not letting her rise. "Alright, alright… you've bagged your first wild shepard there, kid, well done!"

"I think it's one of those silly humans, Lita," Aethyta laughed, thoroughly amused. "And not a particularly good or clever looking one, either!"

"Yes, you don't look particularly dignified right now, Shepard," Aria remarked, smirking as she stood next to Aethyta.

"Aria… I thought I recognized your voice! What the hell are you even doing here?" Shepard asked, gently pulling the squealing Lita off her and rising from the ground. She gave the Pirate Queen another measured stare before chuckling. "And speaking of looking dignified, there's still some soil left on your cheeks."

Aria hastily wiped her face clean, glaring at Aethyta. "Well, Shepard, it appears that I am your new neighbor. Aren't you delighted?"

"You're that annoying person who bought the neighboring estate and has not been letting us sleep at night with all that racket? Liara and I were already planning to infiltrate the estate at night, capture its irritating new owner and tar and feather them," Shepard said, jabbing an accusing finger at Aria's chest.

"I merely wanted to grace you with my much desired presence as soon as possible," Aria winked at her.

"Are you really going to move in already?" Aethyta looked a little surprised. "That is bold... everyone on Thessia is going to be up in arms about that. Can't say I would mind a little stir, this place sometimes gets too peaceful for my liking."

"I don't think Thessia is quite ready for me to settle here permanently," Aria said. "But the girls... my stepdaughters," she added for Aethyta's benefit.

"You have... stepdaughters now? Are you trying to become some kind of model citizen?" Aethyta blinked. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Aria T'Loak?"

"It's a long story, and nothing you need to concern yourself with, old girl," Aria smirked at the irate matriarch. "But to keep it short, while the girls bravely try not to show it, they feel stifled on Omega, and I thought their artistic spirits would thrive here on Thessia. I'll leave a small commando squad with them in the estate, and with you and Liara next doors, I think they should be fine. I'm sure you'll enjoy their company."

"Well, of course," Shepard readily agreed, Aethyta finding herself completely out of the loop and hating the feeling. "You'll visit often, though?"

"Wait, you actually **want** her to visit?" Aethyta gave her daughter-in-law an incredulous stare. "Are you out of your sodding mind?"

"With the amount of knocks my noggin has taken, would that surprise you?" Shepard just laughed back at her amiably, sporting a crooked smile.

"The Omega Empire requires a lot of management still, but I should be able to take frequent vacations," Aria nodded. "And Tevos will be able to sneak away from the Citadel with the pretense that she's visiting Armali for official reasons and fool everyone by claiming that she is staying with you."

"A bold plan," Shepard nodded. "Say, why don't we find Liara and spring the news on her too, she'll be overjoyed to see you, and to hear about Rila and Falere moving in! Come on, Lita," she said, scooping the little asari in her arms and lifted Lita up on her shoulders, the little one proudly brandishing the shotgun at everyone from above. "Let's find Mommy and tell her that Auntie Aria is here."

"Auntie Aria? Liara will be... overjoyed? What by Athame's heaving bosom is going on here? T'Loak, I'm going to find out how you have managed to ingratiate yourself with these naive children, and when I do... there will be a hell to pay!" Aethyta could not stop herself from ranting, as they slowly began to walk back towards the estate...

* * *

_Boston, Earth_

"What have your agents established? Report," the harsh voice hardly seemed befitting of the young and highly attractive brunette staring down the man in front of her. "Jonathan, this is taking far too much time. We should have had access to the network already by this time."

"Well, I'm sorry Kat, but some Dr. T'Soni's friends and acquaintances are very dangerous and paranoid people, and observing them without being noticed proved extremely difficult," the young man replied apologetically. "That said..." he hesitated, wincing, already expecting the reaction in response of the news he was about to deliver. "...I can with full certainty confirm that the new Shadow Broker is not one of Shepard's or Dr. T'Soni's closest circle of friends."

He was both relieved and surprised at once when the angry reprimand didn't come. Instead, Katherine Hock simply nodded as if she had anticipated this outcome. "Yes, I did expect this, I arrived to this conclusion many months before you did," she stated confidently. "Which means that we have to broaden the list of suspects, increase it to all casual acquaintances..."

"But that could take decades!" Jonathan exclaimed. "She must have been in contact with thousands during her stay on Ilium!"

"Yes, but I have a feeling that it won't take that long..." Katherine replied mysteriously. "Truly, for an asari, Liara T'Soni is something of an antisocial recluse. And as it happens, Jonathan... I already have a lead for you. Take a look at this..." she said, pulling up a holographic image of an empty plaza in a place that felt instantly familiar to Jonathan.

"Is that Omega? Some old security footage?" he asked, Kat nodding and starting to fast forward the footage, then stopping it when two individuals appeared in the view, hastily running across the plaza and disappearing. "Can I see that again, enlarged?"

"Of course," Katherine quickly adjusted the footage, pulling the images closer. "This was taken nearly ten years ago. One of my contacts on Omega remembered that Liara T'Soni had visited the place a few months after the supposed death of Commander Shepard."

"Yes, I recognize her now," Jonathan was by now certain that one of the figures was an asari. "Who's the other guy, though? Can you enlarge it even more and clean the image up a bit?"

"I'll save you the trouble, brother dear. Surely you realize that I have already done all of this," Katherine smiled, bringing up the holo image of T'Soni's companion.

"A drell? That's...unexpected," Jonathan blinked. "The only drell on their contact list was that assassin, Thane Krios, and he's dead. But... this doesn't seem to be him, even if all drell look the same to me."

"It is not Thane Krios. In fact... nobody seems to know about who this drell might be," Katherine said. "Which makes me think that this is a lead worth investigating... Jonathan, I want all our agents trying to find everything they can about this drell. I have a feeling that he might be involved with the network... at the very least, he must be one of the Broker's agents..."

"Very well, we'll get right on it," Jonathan nodded. He hesitated a little, even if Katherine probably expected him to see to his new duties immediately. "...any other news, Kat? The elections are only three months away now. I understand that things are looking quite promising?"

"Yes… even though I had hoped to have the Shadow Broker intel accessible by now, providing us with plenty of interesting information to use against our rivals… it appears that my charity work, orator skills and disarming looks might just carry me straight to the New Arc," Katherine grinned confidently. "Terra Firma is showing up strong second in the latest polls, and being in the middle of the candidates list, it means I have a strong chance of getting in."

"Why isn't just seizing the Broker network enough for you, Kat?" Jonathan asked. "Isn't it enough to rule from the shadows with the knowledge that you are the one who holds control over the entire galaxy? Our father didn't care for recognition either... well, aside from recognition in his circles of shadow economy and politics."

"And look where it got him, not even a corpse left to bury," Katherine Hock ground out angrily. "Perhaps it is vanity or delusions of grandeur, but I want these gray masses of nothings to know that it is I who decide their fates, and I want them to worship me for it. And nobody will suspect someone so publicly recognizable as me, popular parliamentarian and a charity worker loved by the crowds on Earth, they would never imagine me to have connections with the Shadow Broker."

"It's not just the fame and the attention, though, is it? We still care about revenge, don't we?"

"Revenge, and more, far more than that," the young woman smiled, a cold, predatory grin. "I don't intend to stop until I have reached the very top," she said, pulling another image from her omni-tool, that of Councilor Hackett. "I want this damned Shepard apologist gone, and I want his seat for myself… and I don't care whether it takes me ten, twenty or thirty years… in the end, I will have it!"

* * *

_A/N: Regarding a certain bet made in this chapter, don't read too much into it. Aria has absolutely no intention to sabotage Liara's and Shepard's union. She is just (successfully) trying to get under Aethyta's skin. _


	18. Goodnight, Dalatrass Linron

_A/N: Another small time skip, this time only one year. :)_

**Chapter 18 – Goodnight, Dalatrass Linron**

_Year 2194 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

For the past five months, news of the krogan spreading out of Kite's Nest and beginning to attack salarian colonies had been at the forefront of every news bulletin that Spectre Morgan Shepard had watched or listened to. In retrospect, she was surprised that it had taken the Council so long to turn to her for aid in stopping the krogan. _Maybe it's because Clan Ganar are behind it all, and Valern knows that they don't listen to me at all,_ she mused, looking outside the window and down at the Presidium, as the slowpoke elevator lazily brought her to the offices of the councilors. _But in that case, I wonder what he wants me to do about it. He'll need the Council fleets, or the geth, to stop those krogan, a single human Spectre won't be enough this time. _

Valern's aides were already well informed about her arrival, which meant that this time Shepard did not have to wait to be granted audience, getting admitted to the salarian councilor's office immediately upon her arrival. The councilor was pacing back and forth the room, looking nervous, having already been alerted that Morgan was on her way. "Ah, Shepard," Valern nodded, for once looking grateful to see her. "You have arrived, and not a moment too soon."

"Councilor," she nodded, taking a seat, even if Valern hadn't yet granted her the permission. "How's your personal krogan problem?" she asked, pointing at the ceiling above, still missing a few pieces of plaster from when Urdnot Ngagong was trying his best to get on the salarian's nerves.

"I can manage him, which is more than I can say about his kin," Valern sighed.

"Yes, I assume that's why I got your call," Shepard nodded. "You want me to do something about the krogan expansion and them hitting the salarian colonies, right? Frankly, I am surprised that it has taken you this long to act!" It really was a little strange, now that she thought about it. The krogan had hit four smaller outposts in their recent attack, killing close to three hundred salarians altogether, as if trying to provoke a response from them and the Council… but there had been no reaction so far.

"That's because the situation is far more complex than you know, Shepard," the salarian replied. "Ever since you forced me to agree into giving the Kite's Nest to the krogan, my people have lived in fear to see something like this happening. So, as soon as krogan began to expand, it was almost reflexive to cry out that I had warned you about it… but, much as I hate to admit it… I now have the intel that proves that the krogan are not the only villains in this little drama playing out before us."

"What do you mean, Councilor?" Morgan asked, not sure where Valern was going with this. _Surely this is all down to the old krogan hatred of the salarians?_

"There are certain… hints about these attacks, patterns that suggest outside influence," Valern stated grimly.

"Someone is egging them on? Who would be crazy enough to do that, the krogan hardly need any encouragement! Batarians? It has to be them, none of the Council races would be interested in this conflict!"

"That is precisely what they want you to think, Shepard," the salarian explained with forced patience, no doubt feeling a little annoyed at Morgan's premature jumping to conclusions. "As I'm sure you have noticed, so far only salarian targets have been hit. It provides the perfect alibi."

"Wait… you're saying it's one of your people?" Morgan blinked. "I can hardly believe it… damn, why? And why haven't you dealt with them already?"

"Because the figure behind all these schemes is too powerful and influential, and the evidence against them is circumstantial," Valern explained. "Our investigation into their activities has lasted almost four years, but finally, I believe that we have enough to identify the culprit. And the attack that occurred sixteen days ago, and that has so far been kept out of the news, has all but confirmed my suspicions."

"What happened sixteen days ago?" Shepard pressed impatiently.

"Another one of our colonies, Rannadril, was attacked. The civilian losses have been staggering in comparison to previous attacks, totaling in thousands. This attack is significant for another reason… my family maintains a large presence on Rannadril, and my sisters were breeding their clutches there. This is a… terrible blow for me and my family personally."

"I… I'm sorry, Councilor," Morgan bowed her head. She didn't always see eye to eye with Valern, but that didn't mean she would ever wish such a tragedy upon him or his family. "Are they…"

"Those who were on Rannadril, yes. All down to the very last," he nodded.

"You think this is also aimed at you, somehow? You did not oppose the genophage cure as insistently as certain others," she remarked, thinking back at Dalatrass Linron and her poisonous offer to sabotage the genophage cure.

"There are certain individuals who could achieve multiple goals with one strike here. Provide the galactic society with irrefutable proof about the inherently violent nature of the krogan, as well as eliminate a political rival," came the councilor's reply. "After a careful dissemination of all the evidence, we have established that this conspiracy traces back to one of the more prominent daughters of Dalatrass Linron."

"So it's not even the dalatrass herself? Surely you can deal with her daughter-"

Valern cut her off with a weary sigh. "You do not understand our people, Shepard. That a daughter would have committed something like this without the approval of the dalatrass is unthinkable. This is Linron's doing… she is acting through her daughter, but of course we have no firm evidence of it, not enough to bring her to justice."

"Are you sure of this information? I know that I should never doubt a salarian's intel, but…" The councilor pushed a datapad towards her across the table. Shepard took it and glanced at the report, raising an eyebrow as she noticed who had signed it. "Spectre Bau and Spectre Goto?" she looked at Valern, the councilor nodding emotionlessly. Morgan threw the datapad back on the table, watching it slide all the way back up to Valern, bouncing off the salarian's arms. "Well, in that case, I don't even need to look at their findings, if they say it's Linron behind it, then it is Linron… but why? Does she truly believe the krogan will destroy the galaxy and she will stop at nothing to prove that she is right, or does she simply hold a grudge over the whole genophage issue?"

"My previous dealings with Dalatrass Linron suggest that it could be both of the above, as well as the simple desire to see me ousted from this post, she has always coveted it for her own family," Valern quickly explained.

"So… what can we do?" Morgan asked. "I notice that nobody has even brought up the suggestion of taking the fight to Clan Ganar, but what can we do if we don't move against the krogan?"

"Even if we wipe out this clan of krogan, the true culprits will go unpunished and will continue to hatch their schemes until they have achieved their goals. We could eliminate their network of intermediaries through which they approach the krogan… a long chain of almost thirty agents of all species known in Council space, and not a single one of them actually knows who they are working for. But they would be quickly replaced, furthermore, it would make Linron even more paranoid, even if I hardly think that possible."

"Well… in that case… if I understand you correctly, there's just one thing to do," Morgan said grimly. "Sever the head of the snake. She needs to be put down."

"Exactly," Valern sighed, looking unhappy. "Shepard, a few days ago I turned forty-three. My time is at an end, and I must do what I can to ensure the future of my clan. If someone like Linron gains the upper hand on Sur'Kesh, it could threaten the galactic stability. Shepard, you have shown yourself capable of comprehending the bigger picture. Eliminating Dalatrass Linron is in the best interests of galactic peace."

"To commit such a high profile murder... I'm sure you know I have personal reasons to dislike her, but still, why ask me, why not have one of your own Spectres like Bau deal with salarian dirty laundry?" she asked.

"It would be very difficult for any salarian to commit such an act due to the highly respected status of the dalatrass in our society. I cannot put such a strain on any of our Spectres, not even on Bau, it might shake his faith in this Council. I do not think you will find this task unacceptable based on moral grounds... besides, I know that you are the best shot amongst the Spectres. I want you to take care of this, because I know that you won't miss," Valern said. "You do not have any moral qualms about it, do you, Shepard?"

Morgan fell silent for a moment, searching deep within herself for an answer to the councilor's question. Her mind worked frantically for some kind of argument, still driven by the gut instinct that this kind of... execution was ethically unacceptable, and perhaps ten years ago her more idealistic self would have demanded that Valern followed the lawful path and attempted to expose Linron publically and take the matter to the courts, or perhaps she would have simply told him to find another murderer for hire. Now... her mind was drawing blanks when trying to find reasons why she should not accept this task. The war had shaped her into a killer, someone who took lives without too much thought, even if her own callousness with which she did so sometimes shocked and frightened her. No, she had absolutely no qualms with killing Linron, in fact, she was a little horrified to feel a tiny rush of excitement when she imagined the elderly salarian female's head appearing in the scope of her rifle.

"I'll take care of it," Morgan finally said, Valern looking at her and giving a pleased nod. "Do we have a plan on how I can get close enough to her, or do I need to do all the recon myself?"

"I have a plan. Linron is exceptionally careful and it is believed that she never even leaves the salarian space due to fears for her life. Based on our intel, we know this to be a lie. Dalatrass Linron has significant financial investments all over the galaxy. Every two years she makes a tour to check on her investments personally, though she always travels incognito, posing as one of her own daughters. Bau's work allowed us to identify Linron during her previous trip two years ago, and now, they are preparing to leave Sur'Kesh for another tour. We will make our move during their brief stay on the Citadel. I will introduce you with the details of the plan once we are done here."

"You want me to do the deed here on the Citadel?" Morgan was a little surprised. "It will be crawling with C-Sec, which might make things a little tricky, but... well, we can probably make the crowds and all the confusion and panic work to our advantage."

"There's just one more thing, Shepard, and I must have your agreement to this if we are to proceed with this task," Valern said. "Nobody can ever know what you have done, or that you have acted on my orders. It would bring a disaster upon my clan, they might even be exiled from the salarian space."

"I have given my oath to protect the Council's secrets, and I don't intend to start betraying you," Shepard shrugged.

"Admirable, but not good enough," the salarian shook his head. "Shepard, should my enemies ever succeed in capturing you, they would not even bother asking you to reveal your secrets, lengthy torture to loosen someone's tongue is not the way of our people. However, we know plenty of effective chemicals that would make you disclose everything your interrogator demands you to share. Some clans also employ rogue asari who have betrayed their very nature and take perverse pleasure in invading someone's mind and stealing their secrets. I must ensure protection against such attacks."

"How can I guarantee that?" Morgan laughed awkwardly, not certain what Valern was talking about. "Short of erasing those memories from my mind-"

"Which is exactly what I must ask you to submit to," Valern interrupted her, leaving Morgan gaping at him, mildly shocked. "There is a certain asari technique which has been used with our Spectres several times in the past. I am not overly familiar with the particulars of this method, so, I will allow someone else to explain..." at his words, the doors to a smaller room at the side of the office opened and someone very familiar to Morgan stepped through.

"Ah, Shepard, it is good to see you, as always," Tevos greeted her, taking Morgan's hands in hers. "Councilor Valern has asked me to explain to you the nature of _tan'hinoi_... an ancient asari technique that I myself have performed to several Spectres in our service... and which I will also use with you, should you accept the task before you."

"Uh... not before I know what exactly this procedure entails..." Shepard said, feeling a little uneasy. The presence of Tevos reassured her somewhat, but all the talk about erasing some of her memories still seemed a little frightening.

"It is quite simple, Shepard," Tevos smiled to her. "I will join my consciousness with yours and during the meld, remove a particular memory from your mind. I won't lie, the process can be slightly uncomfortable, but I can assure you that the rest of your memories will remain completely intact, I will take only this one specific memory."

"Hmm... well..." Morgan hesitated. "Actually... that might be the kind of knowledge I don't even want in my head, so... I wouldn't mind it being gone, to tell you the truth." She thought for a moment, then snapping her fingers. "But wait... I will know that you have taken something from my head, won't I? I will spend years wondering about what was taken from me, trying to scratch some kind of mental itch in my mind!"

"Please, Shepard... we are not so sloppy," Tevos said, looking a little amused at having to explain. "Once I am done removing this memory, I will replace it with something else, something simple and harmless. It will serve to placate and reassure you that nothing at all has been removed from your memories."

"And it really does work?" Morgan blinked, still a little disbelieving, but then finally yielding. _Well, I do trust Tevos... after all these years of friendship, she would not do anything that could harm me, I'm more than certain of it,_ she decided, then thinking of something again. "Wait... are you aware of Councilor Valern's plan?" she asked of Tevos. "Doesn't that make you a security liability as well?"

"I know exactly as much as I must know, Shepard," Tevos said softly, taking Morgan's hands in hers again. "And so do you, everything else is inconsequential. We ask only that you trust us and do what is asked of you, my friend."

"Shepard, there are more contingencies in place than I can tell you about. The more you know, the more difficult it will be for Tevos to erase this knowledge from your mind," Valern added abruptly. "Please, trust us and perform this task. You will not regret helping us, I swear it on the honor of my clan."

Morgan looked from Valern's impatient stare back to the gentle expression in Tevos' eyes. "Fine, alright..." she sighed, finding it impossible to throw in the towel now. "I will do as you ask."

* * *

_Murder for the greater good... I guess that's a step above killing for money,_ Spectre Morgan Shepard mused darkly, watching the salarian procession milling about in the private shuttle bay, waiting for the last skycars to arrive. _Then again, someone might ask... who's greater good? Well... the galaxy's, I suppose. But is it up to me to decide? No, but it is the job of Valern and Tevos... and I am merely a tool in their hands, I agreed to this role, I turned down the offer to join them as equals... I must be content with what I have... and I am content. _

_At least I will not have to sleep on this decision for months afterwards... Tevos will remove all moral quandaries from my mind, and that will be the end of it, _she thought with a grim smile on her lips, watching the skycars beginning to pull into the dock. _I wonder if she could do that with all of those other nasty memories that now and then keep plaguing me still... but somehow I doubt it is as easy as that, or else everyone would be using this technique. And I do not want to be absolved for my sins as easily as this, or I will never learn, never know not to do wrong. This is not about making things easy for me, this is about protecting Valern and his clan from repercussions. _

_Not that I think I will feel badly about Linron... plotted assassination in cold blood is... not pretty, but why must I keep lying to myself? I'm a born and trained killer, and I have not always killed just to protect myself. The war, my career with the Alliance... they have shaped my very nature. Could I even live a normal life after all that? Perhaps I need these opportunities to indulge my violent nature... I need to hunt and kill, and working for the Council gives me the convenient mandate to do so. _

The salarians were starting to get out of the skycars now and she raised her rifle to observe the scene more closely through the scope of her Widow, modded specifically for this task, greatly increasing the range and giving her weapon capability to cut through any kinetic barriers that might be protecting Linron. _'Commander, I am deeply disappointed by your actions on Tuchanka'_, she remembered the lines of the message that Linron had sent to her after they had cured the genophage_. 'Commander, the blood of my people will be on your hands.'_

_There would be no salarian blood on my hands, unless you hadn't goaded the krogan, you lizard bitch, _Morgan thought angrily, trying to spot Linron amongst the many salarians in cowls. There was a smaller group of females that the security forces were keeping a closer eye on, and she decided that the dalatrass would be within that bunch.

_'I am ashamed to also learn that our own scientist sacrificed his life carrying out your orders.' _This particular line in Linron's message had enraged her all those years ago, and it affected her similarly now as well, as she began to carefully scrutinize one salarian face after another, inwardly cursing about how alike they all looked from her vantage point.

_You killed Mordin, you did it with your STG sabotage, if not for that, he would not have had to take that elevator to the top of the Shroud! He would have survived, joined me on the Normandy... and I would not have had to lose a friend! I should kill you just for that alone,_ Morgan felt the heat of blood rage in her face, looking through the scope with animalistic eagerness in search of her prey. The 'leader' of the delegation was being flocked by six other females, and the only thing she was certain of was that Linron would not be posing as the leader. But there were signs that the others in this group were not actually looking up to their designed 'leader', no, everyone's eyes seemed to fall upon one of the absolutely unremarkable looking daughters of the clan.

_I have you now, bitch,_ Morgan's twisted grin widened as she stared down her victim through the scope, now recognizing other signs as well. The past few days she had done little else other than watched vid footage of the salarian dalatrass, learning her mannerisms, the way she moved, her facial expressions... there was no doubt anymore, the salarian in her scope was Dalatrass Linron. _They might be paranoid, but they truly do not expect this... the Citadel is safer than it has ever been, crime is down thanks to Bailey and the C-Sec... and who would dare to openly attack a salarian delegation in plain sight? _

"I would," Spectre Morgan Shepard said coldly, pressing the trigger as soon as Linron's head was perfectly aligned with the targeting scope of her rifle. The result of this single shot was spectacular. As she had thought, nobody would have put up barriers during this brief transfer from skycars onto the salarian carrier ship. The bullet entered through Linron's forehead with full force, spraying disgustingly green brain matter everywhere. As the dead body of the dalatrass made a comical flop in the air before coming to lay still on the ground, the bullet actually exited through the back of her skull and managed to hit someone standing behind her, though fortunately non-lethally.

_You were right, Councilor Valern... I would not miss,_ Morgan thought to herself with gleeful satisfaction, as she continued to watch the delegation succumbing to complete shock and panic. Some of the guards recovered more quickly, and seeing as how they were beginning to look into the direction where she was hiding, Morgan decided to make her getaway, pulling back through the narrow access shaft, throwing one last glance to make sure she left no evidence behind, before turning around and escaping into the labyrinths of Keeper tunnels.

* * *

"Ah... damn it!" Morgan cried out in pain, jerking violently, Tevos leaning back and looking both exasperated and sympathetic. They were in the asari councilor's Presidium office, two hours after midnight, and everyone else had long since left the premises, providing them with the privacy for Tevos to perform the _tan'hinoi. _

"Does it hurt?" Tevos asked, biting her lip in frustration as Shepard nodded. The human was lying on the comfortable sofa, her face having gone noticeably pale and large droplets of perspiration covered her forehead. "I don't understand... I am certain that I am doing everything as I should, it is meant to be uncomfortable, yes, but not as painful as this..." the asari looked very puzzled.

"Well... I don't know... have you ever done it to a human?" Morgan asked.

"Oh... by the goddess, Shepard, that must be it, they were all asari Spectres," Tevos sighed. "How did I not realize this? It... should still be possible and safe to perform on a human, but... perhaps there are physiological differences that make it more painful..."

"It's okay, I just need to endure it," Shepard said resolutely. "I made a promise to Valern, we both did. I need to get through this."

Tevos looked conflicted for a moment. "Morgan... Valern is dead," she finally said.

"What? Did they find out? How could they have found out so quickly?" Morgan asked, pulling up from the sofa, Tevos having to restrain her.

"Please, allow me to explain," Tevos lowered her back on the sofa with a calming smile. "Councilor Valern had no more than three months to live. That was why he arranged for his own death. Two hours ago, a salarian Spectre of his own clan shot him in a manner similar to how you removed Dalatrass Linron."

"He threw all suspicions off from his clan by sacrificing himself?" Morgan blinked. "That's... wow, I don't know what to say. I'm... very surprised. Didn't expect that from someone like him. But..." she then said, looking determined. "Still, I made my promise, and his death does not absolve me from it. Linron's clan might still somehow learn that I pressed the trigger, and they might get to me and extract the truth from my head, that was what Valern was worried about, the possibility of it coming back to haunt his clan..."

"Very well, in that case we will continue," Tevos said, looking a little concerned still. She activated her omni-tool, before looking at Shepard again. "Please, Morgan, link the readings of your vitals to my omni, I want to be constantly monitoring them. If I see your heart rate readings spiking to dangerous levels, I will need to stop this." Morgan simply nodded, complying with the councilor's request. "Hmm, blood pressure is slightly elevated, as I suspected. We need you to find some way to relax, Shepard."

"Not exactly easy to do when it feels like there are needles getting prodded through my brain," Morgan smiled uneasily. "But I will try..."

Five minutes later, Tevos was again forced to pull back when she felt Shepard starting to thrash in pain, watching her blood pressure beginning to spike to abnormal levels. "Shit... sorry," Shepard managed, wiping the beads of perspiration from her brow.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, Shepard," Tevos said quietly. Morgan summoned her remaining strength to glare at her. "But I see you are insistent to go through with it... can you perhaps summon some thought, a happy memory to focus upon, something powerful enough to banish the pain?"

"That's what I was doing," Morgan nodded. "I was thinking of Lita and Liara, but... when the pain gets too much, it does not help... I'm sorry."

"Well, I am hesitant to suggest this, but... I believe I could provide you with a distraction, Morgan," Tevos said, blushing for some inexplicable reason. "You would not be able to remember anything about it after I'm done erasing the memory. But I promise to explain everything to Liara along with my apologies."

"Distract me... how?" Morgan asked, not understanding what Tevos was talking about, but she got her answer when the councilor softly put a hand upon hers and caressed it lightly. "Oh..." now it was her turn to blush.

"It would be merely to provide you with physical contact as means of distraction, and nothing else," Tevos said, her features also indicating that she was a little uncomfortable with the proposal, but saw no other way how to go through with the procedure. "We both know the reasons why we are doing this. I will be fine with it, if you agree to this."

"Then do it," Morgan said quickly, before the feelings of guilt could rob her of her resolution, even if she knew that Liara most likely would not condemn her for it. She wanted her bondmate to be the one to provide this kind of distraction, but since that was not possible... Tevos or Aria were the only ones she could trust with something like this.

"Very well," Tevos finally nodded. "Close your eyes, Morgan... lean back, breathe deeply and try to relax..." Shepard did as she was told, soon beginning to feel the councilor's hands touching her, but it was not in a way to arouse her, somehow Tevos knew all the right spots where to touch her in order to provide relaxation. "There, blood pressure is normal again... we can resume," she said softly, leaning over Morgan, Shepard recognizing that lovely scent of something that felt like a combination of mint and lavender.

The meld came first, gentle, probing tendrils reaching into her mind, seeking out the relevant memory, the process similar to any non-mating meld, at least at first. It was only when the first sharp stab of pain shot through her mind, Morgan felt something soft against her lips, realizing that Tevos was kissing her. For a while, that thought, that sensation alone served as an adequate distraction, but soon enough Tevos focused in earnest on her work in the meld. This was the point where Morgan had broken before, the pain getting far too much, but now she had another option for distracting herself. She began to kiss Tevos back.

Tears were spilling out on her cheeks, body thrashing from the effort, her hands wrapped tightly around Tevos' back, desperately crushing the slim asari against her, fingers digging deep into the councilor's flesh, causing her pain and discomfort in return. Tevos herself was physically on the edge as she frantically worked through the last stages of _tan'hinoi, _Shepard's iron grip crushing her and making it hard for her to breathe, the human's lips rough against her mouth, driven by pain rather than pleasure, Shepard's teeth biting down hard on her flesh and Tevos felt the unpleasant taste of blood filling her mouth, urging her to work faster through the meld.

Still, despite finding the pain almost unbearable, neither of them dared to let go, knowing that neither of them would have the strength to begin anew and go through all this again. During the last moments of the procedure, Morgan was not as much kissing the asari as she was literally crying out with pain in her mouth, her hands clutching the fabric of councilor's robes and instinctively tearing at it, leaving only shreds of cloth covering Tevos' back.

Finally, it was all over, and the terrible pain began to fade, Tevos starting to ease them out of the meld, Morgan in turn loosening the grip in which she held the slightly mangled councilor. There was a heavy haziness in Morgan's head and for a while she did not truly comprehend what was happening, as if through a mist seeing Tevos leaving her side, not even knowing why she was alone with the councilor in her office late at night, the Presidium outside sinking in darkness.

"What... what happened?" she managed in a groggy voice as Tevos finally returned, looking a little odd, as if she were in pain, but trying not to show it, starting to wipe Morgan's face with a clean piece of cloth.

"We swapped several memories through the meld, Shepard," Tevos explained kindly. "Perhaps I overestimated your ability to navigate your own memories. And perhaps a few too many glasses of elassa during the dinner were to blame, too."

"Oh... that would explain it," Morgan smiled sheepishly, rubbing her slightly aching head and trying to remember, images coming back in a scattered flood, seeing herself, Tevos and Aria spending the whole day together on the Presidium. _Blimey, I must have had a bit too much to drink to forget that,_ she grinned at herself, slowly starting to get up from the couch. "I... I should get back to my apartment, though, I have delayed you for way too long here."

"No, Shepard... I can't trust you to get back on your own, you're not quite yourself right now," Tevos shook her head, activating her omni and sending a quick message.

"You're not looking all that well either, Tevos," Morgan remarked, continuing to stare at the councilor. The asari matron appeared very exhausted, drained, and it clearly showed in her face.

"It was not a good idea to try and join our minds when we were both tipsy and exhausted after a long day," Tevos replied, even speaking seemed to take her some effort now. "I'm sorry for suggesting it, my friend."

Morgan was about to tell the councilor not to blame herself, when suddenly the doors to the office opened and none other than Aria T'Loak stepped through. She first quickly glanced at Shepard before turning to her bondmate, her expression changing slightly as she noticed Tevos' haggard state. "Everything alright here?" she asked, sounding... careful, almost apprehensive.

"I'm... not sure," Morgan tried, finally getting up from the sofa, having to steady herself against a chair as the room began to spin, making her slightly sick. "But... apparently I need to get home... I feel as if I've had a bit too much to drink, really..."

"You certainly look like you've had one drink too many. I'll take you to your apartment, Shepard, but first give me a moment with Tevos. Wait for me outside," Aria nodded curtly, approaching Tevos and beginning to speak with her in hushed tones as Morgan began to stumble towards the exit from the office.

"...no, honestly, Aria... I am perfectly fine," she could hear Tevos replying just as she reached the doors. Aria muttered something that sounded more insistent and disapproving. "I will be alright, I promise, just take Shepard to her apartment. I will meet you back at Kithoi, please... don't risk coming back here." More quiet words from Aria, this time softer, almost tender. "...yes, I will let you take good care of me... I am very much looking forward to it..." Shepard carefully peeked back into the office, seeing the two asari embracing gently before Aria released Tevos, still looking a little concerned as she followed Morgan out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, sitting in the skycar next to Aria as the asari steered it through the nightly Presidium, the haziness slowly began to lift from her mind, Morgan starting to remember the events of the day far more clearly and vividly. And yet still... she had this strange feeling as if there was something that she had missed, as if something had been taken from her... Tevos said that they had been sharing memories through the meld, perhaps this was the effect? She closed her eyes and tried to relax, gently probing her own memories, trying to search for something that seemed off, able to feel a corner of her mind that throbbed like a raw wound, poking at it insistently, trying to coax the memory out.

Soon enough, images began to pour forth, images of a memory that clearly was not hers. She saw a young asari girl, walking up a wide stairway of a glorious white marble mansion, even more luxurious than the T'Soni Estate. The girl was not as much running as she was bouncing up one step at a time, holding a small datapad in her hands. Once she had reached the top of the stairs, she happily skipped towards an exorbitantly decorated study, where a dignified looking volus gentleman sat at a massive desk covered with computer terminals, datapads and OSD's.

The girl approached the desk a little shyly, reaching out and tentatively placing the datapad she was carrying next to the volus, who quickly picked it up and began to browse its contents. "Ah... -_hiss_-... I see. The perfect grades," he nodded kindly, rolling out of his chair and then giving the little asari girl an affectionate and careful pat on the head. "Very well done... -_hiss_-... my little poppet. Very well... -_hiss_-... indeed. And now for your reward..."

The volus slowly lumbered towards one of the many cabinets behind him and unlocked it with a sequence of complicated access codes, picking up something from one of the shelves, placing it on the girl's outstretched palm. "Your first... -_hiss_-... credit chit, poppet," the volus said. "Use it wisely... -_hiss_-... oh, and a little more..." he turned to the cabinet again, picking up something and then depositing what looked like several colorful candies on the girl's outstretched palms.

"Ooh! Thanks, daddy! You are the best!" the girl squealed with delight, grinning broadly as she bounced away, leaving the volus standing at his desk and looking after her, eventually giving a happy sigh and returning to his work.

"Shepard," she was suddenly shaken out of the reverie when Aria's hand yanked her shoulder. "Are you alright there? Hang on for ten more minutes, then you can pass out once you're back in your apartment."

"Oh... I'm alright, Aria... I think," she managed a slightly confused reply. "I just... saw the memory that Tevos shared with me." Morgan chuckled, remembering what she had seen. "Can you believe that her father was a volus? Oh... of course you can, you probably knew him."

"Yes, and he was the only decent person amongst her family. And you know that you're in trouble when a volus is the most honest amongst a bunch of manipulative, lying bitches," Aria spat bitterly. "I actually respected him. You should try asking me about my father before you laugh about Tevos' parents."

"Oh... oh, I wasn't laughing at all," Morgan spoke hastily. "I just thought it was a little odd, but sweet... she looked very affectionate towards him. And I would dearly want to hear who was your father, though I'm quite certain that he was a krogan."

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Aria laughed. "Actually, he was a batarian."

"A batarian?" Morgan blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Those were still the days when they hadn't fallen out of favor with the Council. They were considered young and promising, if a little rough around the edges... just like your people, Shepard, when humans first burst onto the scene. My... mother thought she was making a smart diplomatic move by being the first asari to bond with a batarian... didn't exactly work out as she had hoped for in the end. Stupid bitch."

"I suppose there might be... some similarities between batarians and humans, yes. Except the slaving and all," Morgan sighed in reply. "Still, to know that your father was one of them... yes, I suppose I can see that as well, Aria."

"I thought you would," Aria nodded curtly, pulling the skycar out of the main traffic flow and landing it in one of the shuttle bays on Silversun Strip, right next to the complex that housed Morgan's Spectre apartment. She gave Shepard a stare that almost seemed a little concerned as she opened the doors of the skycar. "Everything alright, Shepard?" she asked.

"Yes, Aria... thank you," Morgan replied softly, gingerly getting out of the skycar. "It's been a really weird day, but I think I'll be fine now. I'll tell you one thing, though..." she chuckled, starting to carefully walk towards her apartment. "The thought of collapsing into my bed feels awfully inviting right about now..."


	19. Rannoch Reunions

_A/N: Hey folks! Well, I have returned from my amazing tropical (!) Scotland vacation. Not that any changes in posting were observed. God bless lodges with free wifi and heat waves when you really don't even want to be outdoors. Also, I finally dared to try haggis and let me tell you that it is just amazing. I've no idea why people refer to it as something disgusting - there's far more worse stuff in your every day salami or pepperoni. _

_As for this chapter, well it was intended as a happy, cuddly reunion kind of thing... before Liara decided to go all angsty emo at the end. Silly Bluebell. _

**Chapter 19 – Rannoch Reunions**

_Year 2194 CE  
Rannoch, Perseus Veil _

"Morgan, will you hurry up already?" Liara's voice rang out, failing to pull Shepard away from scanning the galactic news terminals in the small civilian spaceport on Tuaa'lakko, one of the largest cities that had emerged on Rannoch after the end of quarian-geth war.

"Li, honey, you know perfectly well we have no reason to be in a hurry," Shepard chuckled back, peeling away for a moment to look at her bondmate, standing next to Morgan with her hands on her hips, Lita peeking out from behind her mother's legs to target her father with the toy shotgun that Aria had given to her as a gift.

"I do not wish to spend hours here at the spaceport waiting for them to come and pick us up," Liara grumbled unhappily. Somehow, their transport from Thessia had arrived four hours early and the local time right now was three o'clock during night, while Garrus and Tali had prepared to come meet them at seven in the morning.

"I don't intend us to be waiting here for hours, but surely you can give me five minutes to check up on the news?" Morgan insisted, continuing to read about the latest operation by Clan Urdnot and its allied krogan forces, aimed to smash the Clan Ganar separatists, holding the fort on Erszbat, a former batarian world in Kite's Nest. With Linron's credits no longer funding the Ganar operations through dozens of intermediaries, the rebellious krogan clan had been slowly pushed out from the salarian colonies, back to the batarian system and now for a good few months, Urdnot and the other clans loyal to Wrex and the Council, had bogged the Ganar into a nasty ground war, but fortunately it looked as if it was about to end. With Urdnot Grunt leading the krogan forces, Morgan never really considered that the outcome could be any different than a decisive Urdnot victory.

The krogan councilor, Ngagong Urdnot, had insisted that krogan were allowed to handle this as an internal matter, wanting to prove that they were able to maintain some kind of control over their own people. Still, turian and geth fleets had lent some support via orbital bombardment to soften up the Ganar before a full out ground war erupted. They also quickly took out whatever fleet the Ganar had left, one or two outdated mercenary frigates, with the rest being transport carriers for dropping their forces onto the salarian colonies, all ships undoubtedly purchased with Linron's resources.

And speaking of the salarians, Sur'Kesh had been in a state of shock when both Councilor Valern and Dalatrass Linron were murdered on the Citadel, not even an hour between the two killings. The theories about who might have been behind these daring murders continued to rage, and the STG were running ragged, especially when roughly three dozen small-fry terrorist organizations of different species suddenly claimed to be behind the act as a response for the cowardly actions of the salarians, not committing their full forces against the Reapers. As the investigations were hitting one dead end after another, meanwhile, following some internal wrangling, five days ago the Salarian Union had appointed a new representative on the Citadel, Councilor Oluara. While Shepard had not yet had the pleasure of having met the new councilor, Tevos had sent her extensive profile about the salarian female, describing her as a largely agreeable and rational moderate who would most likely adopt the approach practiced by Valern.

"You could have read all that on your omni-tool," Liara didn't relent when Shepard finally picked up the luggage and they began to make their way out of the small, and almost completely empty spaceport.

"Geez, you're becoming such a nag, love," Morgan chuckled amiably. "There's just something about spaceports and those big news terminal screens that I find oddly compelling."

"I think you're just very strange, even for a human," Liara grinned back.

"Yup, daddy is very strange!" Lita chuckled, hiding in safety behind Liara's legs.

"Ganging up on me now, are you? Hmph!" Morgan scoffed, as they finally made their way outside of the spaceport, standing on the tiled steps and looking around, with everything being unexpectedly silent. Despite the late hour, Morgan had expected one of the largest cities on Rannoch to have something akin to night life, even if it had only slightly more than hundred thousand inhabitants. With the total population of slightly over ten millions, Rannoch would not have to deal with overpopulation for a few centuries at least, and this was reflected in the way that the quarian cities were structured. Even if the old habits to try and preserve space were still strong, the geth who were the actual designers and builders followed the old pre-war schematics when considering city layouts.

As a result, quarian cities were large and sprawling in size but sparse in population density, houses more than five floors high were a rarity, save for the small commercial centers of every town. Winding paths spread through the residential districts outside the spaceport, designed only for walking, gnarled trees were growing in the sandy soil at the side of the roads, casting grotesque and spooky shadows in the light of the bright lanterns. One or two skycars circled above their heads, but that was all the movement they saw, the city sleeping in a peaceful slumber.

"This... kind of reminds me of Earth from some really old black and white vids," Morgan mused, looking around in awe. "Except for the skycars, and everyone wearing suits, of course."

Meanwhile, Liara was busy downloading the map of the city to her omni-tool and inputting the address provided by Tali and Garrus. "It is only an hour's walk away, if you don't want to rent a skycar," the asari said, looking at the nearby parking lot.

"I think I'd like to walk, it's a lovely night," Morgan decided, then looking at Lita. "But only if you're up to it, kiddo. You're not sleepy, are you?" The little asari shook her head vigorously. "Alright... an exciting walk it is!"

"If she gets tired, then you're carrying her," Liara added with a wicked grin, herself appearing content to walk to the residence of Tali and Garrus.

"Yes, along with the suitcases... that's very fair," Morgan grumbled, resuming the walk down the very last few steps of the spaceport stairway, setting her feet on the firm Rannoch ground as they slowly began the enjoyable nightly walk.

They walked down the winding path at a leisurely pace, Morgan and Liara often stopping to admire and appreciate the views that opened to their eyes. At one point, the curving road began to lead uphill, offering them a view of the ocean in the distance... though, in earnest, Morgan could not even see it in the dark, but with this surprising and calming silence around them, she could clearly hear the waves crashing at the cliffs below.

"This is curious," Liara said, after they had walked some more, illuminating the facade of one of the houses with the soft glow of her biotics. It revealed a large plaque with an image of a ship, and the name of the vessel, in this case one of the liveships, 'Kura'ya'. "I wonder if they have done this for every building... it would be a very touching way to preserve the memory of the Migrant Fleet."

They continued their little research as they kept walking, quickly establishing that Liara's hypothesis was correct, finding that every house in the city seemed to hold a similar plaque, commemorating the name of the ship that the house owner had served on. "That is a sweet tradition," Morgan agreed. "Wonder if Tali and Garrus have put up a plaque with Normandy on their house... that would be awesome."

"What else could they possibly place there?" Liara asked, smiling, then wincing as the targeting laser of Lita's toy shotgun poked her in the eye. Their daughter was constantly circling around them, hiding behind the odd gangly trees, now and then jumping out to 'ambush' them and running off giggling again. "Ah... that brings back memories. Do you miss the time we spent on the Normandy, or think back of those times often?"

"It's impossible not to," Morgan replied. "After all, the Normandy brought me to you, all those years ago. It was our home through good and bad... though, looking back, it sure seems that there was a whole lot of bad, and only a little bit of the good... usually associated with the time we spent up in the loft..."

"Mmm, yes," Liara nodded with a fond smile, caught in the memories. "It will always remain unforgettable to me, the memory of the days that shaped who we are today. I must confess, I do miss the Normandy... I almost long for those days, but that is because I have managed to forget what it felt to live as if every new day could be our last, living in the shadow of the Reapers."

"Yes, I do not miss that," Morgan nodded, the memories still making her feel very conflicted, the good was mixed with so much bad, the deaths of their loved ones... she did not wish to reminisce of those days too much. "But the Normandy is still out there, doing the good work for the Alliance, with Joker and Cortez onboard. And the people serving on the ship also forge new relationships, perhaps fall in love... undertake important missions... life goes on, but... that's no longer our life."

"And I have no complaints whatsoever about how our life has turned out since then," Liara said softly, stepping up to Morgan and planting a sloppy, wet kiss on her cheek, making Lita complain loudly about them doing icky things.

Eventually they reached the residence of Garrus and Tali, a low three foot high stone fence surrounding a large two-storied mansion of reddish stone blocks, by far more impressive than anything else they had seen. Tali had mentioned that as part of Legion's gratitude, the geth had constructed this estate for them while they were still back on Palaven, basing it upon the blueprints on the mansions of the ancient quarian leaders. Tali had been a little uncomfortable accepting a more luxurious dwelling than the rest of her people, but in the end Raan and her fellow admirals had talked her into it.

The small wooden gate was unlocked and there did not seem to be any kind of security, any alarms or surveillance along the perimeter, but still Morgan made sure to be very careful of any booby traps, knowing Garrus, his paranoia and fondness for explosions. Once she was satisfied that no surprises lay in wait for them, Morgan gave Liara a signal and her bondmate scooped Lita up in her arms, Shepard carrying the suitcases along the small gravel path leading up to the estate entrance. _No natural predators on Rannoch, crime is probably extremely low, geth hanging around to keep peace... I guess they can finally relax and enjoy true peace, even my paranoid turian buddy,_ Morgan mused, watching Liara quickly sending a message on her omni-tool.

"I thought it would be more considerate to alert Garrus of our arrival instead of making a ruckus and waking the kids up," Liara quickly explained, as Shepard looked at the large plaque at the side of the building. As Liara had correctly guessed, it couldn't have been any other ship other than the Normandy, she would recognize that sleek shape of their beloved ship everywhere, not needing to check the etched name of the vessel underneath the image.

"Of course, you would never think to wake up Tali first," Morgan grinned. "That's right, make those males suffer."

"I didn't think about that at all-... no, wait... perhaps I did, at that," Liara confessed with an embarrassed chuckle.

After a brief bit of waiting, a strange creature opened the doors to the estate, blinking rapidly at the equally surprised Liara and Morgan. "Shepard? Liara? You weren't supposed to arrive for a few more hours," the creature said. Upon closer examination it turned out to be Garrus, wearing some kind of robe that made him look incredibly silly.

"Well, our carrier arrived four hours early, would you believe it," Morgan shrugged. "Sorry, about the inconvenience."

"Don't worry, Shepard... I'll tell Tali to get her suit on, wait here," Garrus said nervously, letting them in and about to dash back upstairs.

"Perhaps there is no need to wake everyone in the middle of the night?" Liara suggested, making the turian stop in his tracks. "I mean... I feel a little tired after the walk, and I could do with a nap. Lita needs sleep, too... say hello to Uncle Garrus, Lita."

"Umm... hewwo, Uncwe Gawwus," Lita managed sleepily, starting to drift off to dreamland in Liara's arms.

"Heh, that is one cute kid you've got there," Garrus laughed. "But sure, I can show you to the bedroom we've prepared for you. It's the middle of the night, so not much else we can do but sleep, anyway. Oh, just drop your bags anywhere, Shepard," he told Morgan, who immediately followed up on this suggestion, tired from dragging the heavy luggage around.

Liara's gentle rocking had already put Lita firmly to sleep by the time they reached the upstairs bedroom, and as the asari carefully laid their daughter down on the bed, Morgan turned back towards their turian friend. "Okay, thanks Garrus, I think we'll be fine from here," she smiled. "Go get some sleep, we'll do the same and then see you all in the morning."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me twice," Garrus nodded, looking... happy, an expression almost unrecognizable on the turian's face. "And Shepard... it's great to finally have you here..."

* * *

Come the evening of the next day, the Zorah-Vakarian estate had become a place of raucous celebrations, Garrus and Shepard setting up a large dining table downstairs in preparations for the upcoming feast. Tali had hired three chefs to prepare the meal for the occasion, by her admission being a lousy cook herself, and unable to prepare anything that Shepard, Liara and Lita could consume. The kitchen staff were bringing dishes out to the heavily laden table, dextro food on red plates and levo meals on blue, to make sure nobody found themselves poisoned. Lita was the greatest risk here, and Liara and Morgan weren't always able to fully take part in the conversations, having to watch their daughter carefully to make sure that she didn't pop the wrong kind of candy in her mouth by accident.

Lita had taken quite a bit of coaxing to leave Liara's side and start making friends with the kids of their hosts, but eventually the other children had managed to lure the little asari away from her mother, and now they were excitedly running around the large house, getting in the way of the adults and causing the kind of mess only children were capable of creating. The two turian kids, Tomko and Katinii, were by now eleven and ten respectively, and with Lita at seven which in quarian and turian years meant more like four, were no longer in the same age group, but they still played along, carried away by the merriment. The two little quarians, Aivo, a boy of seven, and Kasya, a girl of five, were more Lita's equals and quickly became inseparable, much to the delight of their parents.

As they were about to sit down at the heavily laden table, flashing lights and noises coming from the yard outside signaled the arrival of a skycar, delivering the final guests, slightly late for the party. Garrus and Tali led them outside just in time to catch the new arrivals climbing out of their skycar, a quarian couple accompanied by a small child, Morgan not immediately recognizing them in their suits.

"Shepard!" the mystery of their identities was cleared immediately as Lia'Vael happily bounced into Morgan's embrace, before turning to hug Liara. While Shepard was shaking hands with Kal'Reegar, his and Lia's six year old son Heion quickly became abducted by the other kids and pulled into their busily chattering company, Tali then impatiently ushering everyone back inside and making sure that everyone took their seats, acting a little like an overbearing mother hen, much to Shepard's amusement.

"The rest of the Admiralty Board also sends their greeting, Shepard," Kal'Reegar said, as they had been eating mostly in silence for a few minutes, interrupted by the frequent cheering and shouting from six exuberant children creating a literal whirlwind around the table. "You remember Zaal'Koris and Kar'Danna, at the least."

"I do, and it's nice to know that they remember me too," Morgan nodded. "Is there much for the Admiralty Board to do these days? From what we've seen on Rannoch, it looks like a tranquil safe haven in this turbulent galaxy."

"Some issues do tend to crop up time and time again," Kal'Reegar replied. "Our population is still dangerously small, Shepard, and even if our numbers are steadily growing, we must make sure that we take the kind of correct decisions to ensure that our people survive and one day, thrive amongst the other species of the galaxy. As an example of one of our struggles, we find it difficult to fulfill the quota of military support that we must provide for the Council fleets, simply because we lack the numbers. And our people are so very tired of war and fighting, they want to simply... live and enjoy the homeworld, instead of returning to serve on our ships."

"Our people have had to completely change their lifestyle in a short period of time, and it has been a confusing experience for many," Lia'Vael added.

"Yes... I remember when we arrived from Palaven and first laid our eyes upon this house, I was completely and utterly shocked," Tali spoke, shaking her head. "I kept thinking that it was such a horrible waste of space, and I couldn't get used to it for months. I think in the end Garrus was starting to get annoyed with how often he had to remind me that space was no longer at premium and there was plenty of elbow room for everyone."

"She once tried to go to sleep in a cupboard, out of habit," Garrus added, causing general laughter at the table as Tali retaliated, trying to stab the turian in the side with a drinking straw.

"So, Kal is still deeply involved with the Admiralty," Liara said, for once allowing herself to take her eyes off Lita and rejoin chatting over the meal. "What about you, Lia, what are you doing these days?"

"Me? Oh... the kids occupy all my time right now," Lia replied. "The twins are only a year and half, so I thought it was safer to leave them back home with our friends playing nannies. The travel from Po'krava takes some time."

"Twins, eh," Morgan chuckled. "Yes, I should say you're building those numbers up rather nicely."

"I almost wish that more quarians would choose adoption as we have done," Tali sighed. "I don't mean you, Lia, you already have three of your own, but families with one, two or no kids at all... I mean, there are still so many orphans from the war... almost makes me want to adopt a few more."

"We've been over this, Tali," Garrus shifted in his seat uneasily.

"Yes, yes, and I agreed with you," Tali said quickly. "The kids take so much of my time, other tasks just keep getting pushed aside, and Garrus is very busy with his work as well. With these hunting trips, he already feels guilty about not spending enough time with the family." The turian grumbled unhappily at that.

"You know, you don't have to do this, Garrus, you could just live off the royalties, and there'd still be plenty left for your children and your children's children," Morgan winked at her turian friend.

"I just... can't live in complete inaction, Shepard. You should know that," Garrus sighed. "You could have retired as well, and yet you retained your Spectre status and kept working for the Council. And you know the reason for it... because you and I, we are alike. We can't just watch the events of the galaxy passing us by. We need to be in the thick of the action."

"Truer words have not been spoken," Liara nodded. "I know that Morgan needs to remain involved, or else she'll go mad, or drive me and Lita insane, so I do not stand in her way. And Tali, you know that Garrus needs it too."

"Yes, I know... still doesn't make me happy when he goes away for several weeks," Tali sighed. "It doesn't help that he's planning some particularly crazy hunting missions for the next year."

"Where are you taking your rich and gullible targets this time, Garrus?" Kal'Reegar asked.

"I think the mission that Tali referred to as particularly crazy is the secret trip to Parnack," Garrus replied.

"Parnack? The yahg homeworld?" Liara blinked. "That is... well, it could be very dangerous. I hope you are taking precautions."

"Hmm, maybe I should go along with Garrus, make sure nothing bad happens to him," Morgan remarked innocently, hoping that Liara would swallow her flimsy excuse. Truth be told, she had been very hyped when Garrus had first told her about these exotic hunting expeditions, dreaming about going along at least once, but she had feared that Liara would not be exactly supportive.

"Morgan, risking your life for the sake of the galaxy is something I can accept," Liara began sternly. "But pointlessly endangering yourself simply for the sake of dubious entertainment... no, I do not approve of this."

"Ah, such a shame," Garrus shook his head. "I had actually thought about asking you to join us, Shepard, since an old friend of yours went through a lot of trouble to secure her participation."

"Oh? And who might that be?" Morgan asked curiously.

"One Aria T'Loak," the turian replied smugly.

"Aria? Oh... Liara, you have to let me take part now, with Aria and Garrus, we'd be perfectly safe no matter what!" Morgan gave her bondmate a well practiced puppy stare. "And if you don't think it's safe, heck, you could come along as well, Aethyta would happily watch over Lita..."

"Morgan, why don't we discuss it later, in private?" Liara asked, looking mildly exasperated with her bondmate's enthusiasm, the chatter dying down around the table as Morgan was now deep in thought, busily pondering how to best sweet-talk the asari into letting her go on this hunting trip.

"Shepard, and what have you been up to all these years?" Lia'Vael finally broke the silence again. "We don't hear much about you performing some heroic deeds to save the galaxy... is it really so peaceful out there?"

"Well, I'm actually working a bit more like a real Spectre nowadays, mostly behind scenes, secret negotiations on the Council's behalf and the like," Morgan explained. "The fact that you don't hear about more trouble happening in the galaxy is actually a proof that the Council and its Spectres are being competent and effective, managing to prevent any potential crisis from escalating."

"The old adage of 'no news is good news' is as true as always," Kal nodded his head. "The scuffle between the salarians and the krogan made us a little worried, but it seems as if that has been resolved. From what I have heard from Councilor Raan, the new salarian representative might be a real handful..."

"Nobody seems to know much about this Oluara person, but I'm sure I won't have much trouble taking an arrogant frog down a peg or two," Morgan chuckled. "I've dealt with worse before..."

The next few hours flew by quickly, spent discussing current galactic affairs, reminiscing in the memories of the Reaper War, now and then having to stop to catch one of the unruly kids storming by, given them a little talking to and then releasing them again, watching and laughing as the tiny reprimanded troublemaker ran off to rejoin their partners in crime.

As the evening drew to a close, Lia and Kal bid them farewell, spent the next twenty minutes trying to find their son, a little too good at hide-and-seek, before taking the nearly two hour skycar flight back to their hometown of Po'krava. "How long are you staying on Rannoch?" Lia'Vael asked, having hugged Morgan and Liara, about to get into the vehicle.

"The entire week, unless Garrus and Tali throw us out for some reason," Morgan grinned.

"We might have some time to visit again towards the end of the week," Lia mused, looking at Tali.

"Of course, Lia, you know that you and Kal are always welcomed in our house," the other quarian spoke gently. Lia, Kal and little Heion waved their goodbyes one more time before the skycar took off and blasted away, leaving the others standing outside in the yard, illuminated by the lights escaping the estate windows.

"And after the week is over, you're going straight to Tuchanka?" Garrus asked. "Taking the kid with you, well, that's brave."

"Lita and I will not leave the Urdnot territories, so it will be perfectly safe," Liara said without a shadow of doubt. "Morgan might use this little vacation to do some Spectre business and speak with some other clans as well, but I do not think she needs us along for that."

"Eh, I don't think anyone on Tuchanka would risk offending my bondmate or our child," Morgan shrugged. "But I think you'll have more fun with Wrex and Bakara, anyway. Especially if Grunt and Kurin get back from Kite's Nest while we're still on Tuchanka."

"Don't forget to give our greetings to the old reptile," Garrus chuckled. "In a way, I almost miss Wrex."

"Well, I **do** miss him, and I want you to tell him so," Tali said, lightly elbowing Garrus, before throwing a glance back at the estate. "Anyway, shall we go back inside?"

With Shepard bringing up the rear as they stepped back into the estate, she suddenly found herself utterly startled by her bondmate's sudden exclamation. "Lita, no!" Liara shouted, blue biotic glow jumping from her fingertips and a small singularity field began to carry the careless tiny asari away from the jar of dextro cookies that she was about to pilfer from. "Goddess, Shepard... we can't take our eyes off her, she almost put herself into the hospital!"

"Wheee!" Lita cheered, delighted, as the singularity was carrying her through the air, the other kids watching her float, clapping and looking on with awe and envy. "I wanna go higher, mommy! Higher!" their daughter pleaded, looking at Liara with big, hopeful eyes.

Instead, Liara began to levitate the tiny asari downwards, so that she ended plopping directly into her mother's arms. "It is way past certain little asari's bedtime," Liara told their daughter, a little reproachfully. "You are tired, little one, and you are starting to cause dangerous mischief... I am putting you right to bed."

"Awwwww..." Lita sighed in disappointment, the small chorus of turian and quarian kids also letting out a similar groan.

"Don't worry kids, tomorrow will be a brand new day, with more fun and games," Morgan winked to the group of sad-faced children. "Maybe you can talk Auntie Liara into using her biotics to make you fly like Lita!" Immediately, the group of four exploded with excited cheers.

"Shepard! My biotics are not meant for entertainment!" Liara gave her an accusing stare, which quickly mellowed when she noticed that the kids looked sad-faced again. "All though... perhaps we can think of something, yes..." she yielded very quickly in the end.

"But only if you all behave and go to sleep now," Tali quickly cut in, giving her kids a meaningful stare. Moments later, a group of exemplary well behaved children walked up to their parents, hugged both Tali and Garrus, and without any further words obediently proceeded to their rooms. "I... I can't believe it!" Tali exclaimed when the last of the kids was out of the earshot.

"Yeah... Liara, you need to visit us more often," Garrus added, shaking his head. "Usually rounding these brats up for bed in the evening is far more tricky than all of my exotic hunting trips combined..."

* * *

An hour or so later, the Zorah-Vakarian estate was sinking in silence, everyone asleep save for Liara and Shepard, the couple leaving their daughter peacefully snoozing in their bedroom, then walking a few steps down the corridor to emerge on the large balcony, right above the estate entrance.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Morgan asked, coming to stand next to Liara, the asari staring in the distance, resting against the railing. It was interesting to note, but the geth appeared able to determine what the organics would consider to be an aesthetically pleasing view, because the location of Tali's home was selected with a great degree of care and planning. Built on a slight elevation, it afforded a spectacular view at the sharply jutting cliffs by the waterside, several massive and gnarly trees growing on the very edges of the cliff, majestic and defiant against the backdrop of the waters of the ocean, white-capped waves crashing against the cliffs.

"Yes, it is," Liara agreed quietly. "Though I would not trade the view from the T'Soni Estate for anything in the galaxy."

"I agree wholeheartedly," Morgan smiled, pressing a little closer to her bondmate. "I just think it is funny, my first impression of Rannoch was not exactly... flattering. It seemed like a horrible place to live, with all the sand and rocks and nothing much else. Hell, I kept expecting a Sand People ambush!"

"Sand... People?" Liara gave her a dubious stare.

"Uh, don't mind me, babe. Obscure cultural reference," Shepard laughed. "But I mean, Rannoch looks beautiful now. I can finally understand why the quarians wanted it back so badly."

"And it will continue to grow and become even more beautiful," Liara said. "I have heard that the geth together with the quarians are working to expand the fertile farmlands. I could have never imagined the geth working on ecological restoration projects, but they are extremely efficient in just about any task that is assigned to them."

"Hmm..." Morgan hummed, suddenly finding herself deep in thought. "Well, if they can make Rannoch green, maybe they could..."

"They could do what?" Liara asked, when Shepard had stopped in the middle of the sentence.

"Oh... I just thought of something," Morgan chuckled, giving Liara a teasing smile. "I'll tell you later. I need to discuss this with someone else first."

"I hate it when you do that," Liara gave her a slightly reproachful stare, before blossoming into a smile. "Besides, I think I have a fairly good idea about what you were thinking of..." she leaned closer and whispered a single word to Shepard.

"Well, you do know me well, babe," Morgan was forced to admit, wrapping an arm around Liara's waist, pulling the asari closer and into her arms. "Can't keep even a small secret from you, and why would I even want to?" she smiled.

They kissed then, and as always, Morgan felt the utter amazement of clearly being able to still taste the same sweetness that had been there in the first ever kiss they had shared, over ten years ago, the intoxicating taste having only intensified over the years, and she knew that Liara felt the same way, knew it from every meld they shared. Now and then, she recalled the fantasies of her teenage years, dreaming of that perfect ideal boyfriend, the daydream that never came through for anyone growing up... and how ironic was it that in Liara she had found so much more, something she had never dreamed of even being possible, never knowing or believing that such love and devotion could exist. And now she was blessed with it, and somehow through their melds, she had come to feel deserving of what Liara had bestowed upon her.

"Happy?" she asked, softly caressing the smooth skin of Liara's cheek with her fingers.

"...yes," Liara replied quietly, but her words were spoken with a pause that made Morgan gently lift her bondmate's chin upwards, forcing the asari to look into her eyes, finding that Liara's expression had changed to pensive.

"But...?" she ventured.

"Ah... I should not dwell, I really must not keep doing this to myself," Liara whispered, shivering slightly in Morgan's arms. "I have you, and I have Lita, and I love you both more than my heart can express, and it should be all that matters..."

"You cannot live just for us, Liara. You need more than that, some way of self-fulfillment, a new focus in your life. Your book is published, perhaps it is time to seek some new challenge? You know that I would never stand in your way. Whatever you choose to do, I promise to stand by you and encourage you in any way I can."

"What have I done to be graced with such kindness," Liara managed to speak, overwhelmed and close to tears as she kissed Morgan again. "Perhaps once Lita is in school and I have more time..."

"That seems like a good idea," Morgan smiled. "Maybe another book? Or visiting some kind of archeological dig? I could probably get a little vacation to play your bodyguard."

"That sounds lovely... but we shall see," Liara whispered. "But right now, I can't even dare to think about leaving Lita... oh, Morgan... every time I see her playing around with that shotgun and someone makes a remark that she's going to become a fierce commando, those words, they just... stab a dagger through my heart, because we know that she can never become a commando... all just because of what I did... or did not do to her..."

"Liara, honey... there's nothing wrong with our daughter, she will grow up to have a perfectly normal and satisfying life," Morgan tried, even if she knew that her attempts to apply logic were doomed on this occasion.

"But she will not be able to choose to become anything she wishes to be," Liara sniffled against Morgan's chest. "And our daughter deserves only the best. I let her down... I let you down."

"Oh, Liara... what will it take for you to stop tormenting yourself over this," Morgan asked, feeling a little depressed herself from seeing Liara like this.

"To see my daughter all grown up and happy in the life she has chosen for her..."

"You... you are worried that she will come to blame you when she grows up?" Morgan asked. Liara's stifled sob was all the answer she needed. "Come now, honey... Lita would never feel like that towards you. She worships you! You are being unreasonably hard on yourself, Liara."

"Yes... yes, I know. I'm so sorry..." the asari sniffled, pulling away from Morgan's embrace. "I did not mean to ruin the moment... it is so beautiful and romantic out here, and I am alone with my beloved bondmate... I should not be weeping." She hastily wiped all traces of tears away from her cheeks and managed to summon a brave smile for Shepard.

"That is much better, yes," Morgan smiled in reply. "Do you want to go back inside now?"

"No... not yet," Liara leaned closer and kissed her on the lips. "Let's stay out here for a while longer... you could hold me... and kiss me..." she whispered, claiming Morgan's mouth in a fierce kiss again. "...and chase the darkness away..."


	20. Tuchanka Turmoil

**Chapter 20 – Tuchanka Turmoil**

_Year 2194 CE  
Clan Urdnot Stronghold, Tuchanka _

Unlike the positive changes obvious to see in development and resettlement of Rannoch, the same could not be said about the next destination on the schedule of Morgan Shepard and her family. Tuchanka was still the same old barren, desolate rock, covered in ruins of the old and glorious krogan civilizations of the past, depressing and gloomy post-apocalyptic landscape everywhere they looked. Morgan never felt very happy on Tuchanka, which was why they had decided to stay with Clan Urdnot only for three days, unlike the week they had spent on Rannoch.

The seat of power of the Clan Urdnot was still situated in the same underground bunker where it was located when Shepard came here on her first visit to help Mordin save his apprentice Maelon, who as later turned out, required no saving. The old bunker didn't look any better than on her previous visit, but it had been dramatically expanded to accommodate for the greater numbers of krogan milling about. Sadly, unlike their ancestors and their impressive wall paintings in the City of the Ancients, the modern krogan appeared to fail at interior design.

Wrex, Bakara and one of their children met them at the landing pad, at least several dozens of other krogan observing their arrival with keen interest, cheering loudly when Shepard stepped out of the shuttle, grinning and waving to her admirers, following by Liara, dragging Lita with her, the little asari looking slightly frightened from all the noise that the krogan were making.

"Ah, Shepard, good to see you," Wrex roared, clapping her on the shoulder affectionately. "Thought you might have gotten cold feet at the last moment... or maybe Liara talked you out of coming here..." he grinned, turning towards the asari.

"It is good to see you, Wrex," Liara greeted him politely. "I would not have missed this trip for anything." She did look at Lita with concern following that, the child looking rather nervous from all the racket and shouting.

Bakara also stepped forward to greet both Shepard and Liara, shaking their hands warmly. "Perhaps we should take our guests to their quarters, Wrex, they must be exhausted," she suggested, acutely sensing Liara's worries about her daughter's discomfort.

Wrex grumbled something and then led them away, deeper into the bunker, eventually guiding them up an old, cracked concrete staircase to a more secluded part of the stronghold. It held the private chambers of Wrex and several other more prominent clan members, likely including Bakara, though Morgan was never particularly clear on just what was the nature of their relationship. They had several children together, most of them boys, but Morgan couldn't spot them anywhere, and one girl, who followed her mother like a second shadow and kept eyeballing Lita now and then when she thought nobody was watching. But it did not seem as if the krogan had a concept of marriage or bonding, which perhaps had something to do with the role of females in a genophage shaped society.

There were several storerooms on the upper floors, where Wrex kept the extremely valuable supplies with which he did not entrust even his quartermaster. This included, first and foremost, several barrels of prime quality ryncol. And then there were the guest rooms, situated in a part of the complex that ages ago seemed to have served as a prison. In fact, there were still several thick vertical iron bars left in the room, making it very easy to walk into them and bloody one's forehead. Considering Wrex's somewhat twisted sense of humor, Morgan figured that the decision was intentional, aiming to somehow exert a little psychological pressure on the guests coming to Clan Urdnot to negotiate or demand a favor. As someone visiting the krogan with a message of peace, she found the notion of being thrown to live in an old prison cell to be less amusing, but her sensitivities were apparently completely lost on Wrex.

"Shepard, Grunt and Kurin will be back with us tomorrow. Grunt sent me a letter how he was looking forward to meeting his mom..." Wrex added with a rumbling chuckle as Morgan dropped their heavy suitcases on the floor in the guest quarters. "They really did a number on those Ganar idiots, heh-heh. Almost makes me wish I had gone with them."

"Oh dear, not that 'mommy' stuff again," Morgan sighed, deciding to quickly change the topic as she caught the sight of Liara trying to stifle her giggles. "So, how are the krogan on Tuchanka reacting to your people beating the crap out of each other?"

"With great interest, Shepard," Wrex replied. "Mostly hoping that the Ganar get their asses kicked. Nobody liked them when they were still on Tuchanka, and now that they are all but history, I've got six clans-" his omni-tool beeped about having received a message, and the krogan leader let out a disgruntled curse once he had read it. "Make it seven clans pushing ahead with a claim to the Ganar territories in the Kite's Nest. Ugh, pain in the ass, there'll be a lot of upset krogan once I make my decision."

"I guess everyone wants to get off this rock, eh?" Morgan said, not really surprised about the fact, regardless of how passionate the older krogan were about their ties to Tuchanka. Much as the krogan had grumbled about getting the remote batarian systems, those worlds quickly proved more appealing than being stuck on Tuchanka.

"And there certainly do seem to be a lot more krogan around," Liara remarked on what Morgan had noticed earlier, the amount of krogan wandering around the enclave had quadrupled, if not more.

"We have had our successes and our setbacks here, yes," Bakara joined the conversation, nodding. "But perhaps we should let you settle in, and then see you at the evening meal? It is being served within an hour, and as our guests, you are expected to share the hospitality at our table."

"We would love to," Liara smiled as Bakara and Wrex turned to leave, the little krogan girl giving one last inquisitive stare at Lita before catching up to her parents.

"I don't like them," Lita grumbled unhappily once the krogan family had left. "They look nasty and mean."

"Not really, kiddo, they're just a bit rough around the edges, but they can be trusted," Shepard chuckled, giving the little asari an encouraging hug. "And the girl, surely she's not mean... I think she's just about your age, isn't she, Liara?"

"What? Oh yes, Mordin is eight, just like Lita is," her bondmate replied. Morgan couldn't stop herself smiling about Wrex coming through with his old promise to name one of his kids after Mordin, finding the name most suited to a girl. With asari and krogan life spans being relatively similar, at the age of eight both girls were also at approximately the same relative age, which made Morgan hopeful that the two could become friends.

"She was giving me an evil glare," Lita complained.

"No, that was not an evil glare at all, she was just really curious about you," Morgan smiled. "She has never seen an asari before, I think she simply wants to be friends with you."

"You... sure about that, daddy?" Lita looked unconvinced, but also slightly excited.

"Of course I'm sure, kiddo," Morgan chuckled. "Remember, your dad is a hero of the krogan, they wouldn't mess around with my daughter. And your mommy, well, she's a quarter-krogan, that's why all krogan like and respect her too."

"Mommy doesn't look much like krogan..." Lita said, puzzled, as she regarded her exasperated mother.

"Thank you ever so much, Shepard, that's another difficult explanation I will have to do later..." Liara sighed, looking none too happy with her.

"I could just do it for you, love, it's not a big deal," Morgan suggested innocently.

"No!" Liara exclaimed quickly. "No... I think you've shared enough general knowledge for one day..."

* * *

The meal at the clan chief's quarters turned out surprisingly palatable. Morgan knew she could handle krogan cuisine just about fine, her implants probably aiding with that as well. They had brought their own supplies with them, just in case Lita and Liara had problems with the food, but Liara appeared to be dealing just fine, even if she had refused ryncol as a starter before the actual meal. Shepard and Liara both agreed not to risk giving the krogan food to Lita, though, and she was all too happy to stick with the 'pyjak food' as Wrex called it, that they had brought with them.

Following the dinner, the grownups were content to simply catch their breath and laze about in silence, Morgan sharing a bottle of ryncol with Wrex, while Lita snuck away from the table to cautiously approach Mordin nearby, the kids not taking too long to find some common ground. However, Morgan grew a little bit worried when she saw that the little krogan led Lita to stand in one corner of the room, herself retreating to the opposite corner and starting to get ready for something with a determined look on her face.

"Err... Lita, honey, what are you doing?" she called out to her daughter.

"Nothing, dad, Mordin is just showing me the famous krogan charge!" came the not particularly reassuring answer.

"Wait, that's not safe-" Morgan started to speak, but she was way too late, little Mordin was already well away on her demonstrative charge... but before she could crash into the wide-eyed Lita, the krogan babe suddenly found herself floating, her charge interrupted by Liara's quick reflexes and a surge of biotics.

"...hey... this didn't happen before!" Mordin cheered, slowly floating upwards and through the window, into the open courtyard of the stronghold. "Whee! Mom, watch me go! I've become a krogan balloon!"

"Oh dear, I better hurry and settle her down gently," Liara rushed out to make sure the krogan child was alright.

"Don't bother!" Wrex called after her. "She's a krogan, not a wimpy kid like yours!"

"Hey, Lita is not wimpy at all," Shepard protested.

"Well, her mother thinks that she can't take a little krogan charge," Wrex laughed, holding his belly in his hands.

"I can, too," Lita stared at him defiantly.

"Oh, what's this, the pipsqueak has found her voice," Wrex grinned, getting up from his chair and waddling towards Lita, bending lower so that his eyes were on the same level with the tiny, frightened asari child. "So, this one thinks that she's not a puny little wimp?" he asked in a loud voice, sniffing at Lita, making her shut her eyes tight from fear. "Nah... this one reeks soft and squishy to me!" he added with another deep belly laugh.

And then, suddenly, Lita did something that made Morgan as proud of her daughter as she had not felt ever before. _Now that is mine and Liara's daughter, yes, _Morgan thought, watching Lita raise her toy shotgun with trembling hands and shove its barrel up into Wrex's nostril, making the krogan blink in surprise. "Got you, big bully!" she exclaimed, opening 'fire'.

"Ha... ha-ha-ha!" Wrex started to laugh like mad, impressed with the child's gutsiness, but then his nose started to twitch involuntarily as if he was about to sneeze."Ah... uh-oh... watch out..." And then, just as he was about to sneeze, probably launching Lita together with her shotgun into orbit, the large krogan suddenly became frozen in a biotic stasis field as Liara and Mordin returned, the asari once again quick to intervene.

"That was **so** cool!" Mordin looked admiringly at Liara. "Is he going to stay like that?" she prodded Wrex with her foot, then poking her father with a playful punch.

"It will dissipate in a little while," Liara explained, scooping up Lita and carrying her away, just in case Wrex was still about to launch an explosive sneeze once the stasis field had expired.

"Awesome," Mordin sighed wistfully, continuing to circle around Wrex, until suddenly the biotic hold lifted and the Urdnot chief tumbled on the ground ungracefully, almost squishing Mordin, the kid barely managing to jump aside.

"Ugh," said Wrex, getting up from the floor. "Go play outside, kids, this is too dangerous for an old krogan like me," he added with an amused chuckle.

"Wanna go throw rocks at pyjaks?" Mordin looked at Lita excitedly.

"Sure!" Lita agreed happily, without even knowing what the hell a pyjak was.

"I will go watch over them," Bakara said quickly, as Liara looked worriedly after Lita, about to get up and follow them. "No doubt you have much to discuss with Wrex. The children will be safe with me."

"Thank you, Bakara," Liara sighed with relief.

"Wrex," Shepard cut straight to the chase as soon as Bakara had left. "This dump is the same level of awful as it was two years ago on my previous visit. You haven't done _anything_ at all! What gives?"

"Shepard... it's just damn tough, sister," Wrex sighed. "We've done some things, tried to get some of the factories back up and running, but... this planet is completely depleted of any resources! We need to ship in everything... I'm trying to set up some supply lines to the Kite's Nest, but those Clan Jurdon idiots want their share too, so nothing we import is very cheap. I would send some of my closest allies there, but it could weaken my positions here on Tuchanka. We already need to ship in most of our food stores, and without any industry and economy, the only credits that are rolling in are the scraps that the Council throw at us. Better than nothing, but how long will that last?"

"We have been hearing reports of more and more clans falling back to the old ways and sending their warriors off world to enlist as pirates or mercenaries, then delivering their spoils of war back to Tuchanka so that their clans can survive," Liara said quietly. "That is not the way, Wrex."

"Of course that's not the way," Wrex growled impatiently. "But most krogan are not known for patience. They have tried this honest living for a few years, and found out that it was too hard work for too little return. Now they're starting to fall back into the old ways. Perhaps I should just send them all to Kite's Nest..."

"There might be a way, Wrex..." Shepard started to speak. "I thought of something while we were visiting Garrus and Tali on Rannoch. That planet wasn't in a much better shape than Tuchanka, but they've really done some good work there... they're even expanding the farmlands, converting the barren ground into fertile fields. If you could do something like that here on Tuchanka, at least you could grow your own crops and wouldn't have to rely on expensive shipments."

"That would help a lot, Shepard," Wrex nodded thoughtfully. "But the quarians would not help us for free. The costs of such a project would be... well, we wouldn't be able to afford it. And I'm guessing you'd rather not see us invading Rannoch and demanding their help?"

"I'd rather not see that, no," Shepard smiled. "But you won't have to. The project is carried out by the geth. They require no payment. A word from you, and I'll have a chat with Legion. And a few days later, the geth will be here to begin their work... they are just that efficient."

"The geth?" Wrex blinked. "That's... interesting. Might be a hard sell with my people, though... they don't really like the flashlight buggers. But Shepard... can they really help us make Tuchanka green again?"

"It will take decades, even centuries, but yes, they can do it," Liara replied for her bondmate. "They will continue to heal the atmosphere of Tuchanka, reintroduce off world flora and fauna that can adapt to Tuchanka's conditions, and they will do many amazing things as a part of the planetary restoration."

"To lay my eyes upon my homeworld as it was meant to be seen... as it once was," Wrex said quietly, getting up from his seat, starting to pace back and forth, trying hard to keep his excitement in check. "You know what, Shepard? I'm sold. And I'll kick my people into shape if they dare to disagree with what's good for them. I can't promise that a few of the geth won't get stomped now and then, some of these krogan have very small brains and the message struggles to get through easily, but... as long as they don't make a big deal out of it, we should be fine."

"The geth are really big on forgiveness these days," Morgan smiled. "I'll talk it over with Legion at the first opportunity, Wrex. Trust me... you won't regret it."

"Well... you haven't let me down yet, Shepard," Wrex gave her and approving nod. "I have no reason to start doubting you now, sister..."

* * *

Shepard was very relieved when the tomkah they were traveling with finally stopped, never feeling very comfortable while in this cramped vehicle, remembering only too well their nearly fatal first journey to the Shroud facility. The tight space inside the tomkah did not help her much either, squeezed between Bakara and Wrex, Liara, Lita and Mordin on the opposite seat. The City of the Ancients and its temple complex that had fascinated Liara so much all those years ago was now behind them, and the asari had not even remarked about wanting to stop at the place where they had fought Reaper ground troops in a deadly battle, while being chased by Kalros, mother of all thresher maws.

Now, stepping out of the tomkah, Shepard could barely recognize the place they had arrived at. Wrex had told them that they would be traveling to a site of their old battles, and Morgan had guessed that Wrex was taking them to the Shroud or what remained of it, but there didn't seem to be any signs of the salarian structure ever having stood in its place. The rubble of the collapsed facility appeared to have been removed, the ground leveled and another building now rose in its place.

"We didn't have anyone on Tuchanka who could create what I had in mind," Wrex spoke as he lead the group towards the monument of metal and stone. "I had to hire some traveling asari sculptors through an add on the extranet. Fortunately, they did a decent job, so we actually paid them and let them leave again."

"That's very noble of you," Liara sighed with an eye-roll directed at Wrex.

"I know!" Wrex happily agreed. "But you have to admit, it's quite impressive."

Morgan looked around the memorial. A shallow set of stairs led up to a stone platform, encased by the pale dry rock, similar in structure to granite. In the middle of the platform was the main piece of the exhibit. Chiseled in the granite was the arena where Morgan, Liara and Garrus had been nearly killed by the Reaper destroyer, which was then eaten by Kalros, much to their relief. From the far end of the arena, there rose the tall spire of the Shroud, cast in metal, visually similar to bronze, standing at least eight feet tall, perhaps slightly more. At the base of the exhibit, stood the engraving. 'In Memory of Mordin Solus, 2147CE-2186CE.'

"Damn it, Wrex," Morgan sniffled, blowing her nose loudly. "You're going to make me cry with this..."

"That is... a very sweet gesture, Wrex," Liara agreed, looking deeply moved.

"I decided against putting the statue of the pyjak himself up. There are plenty of idiots around here who do not realize what he did for us, and would just deface the monument," Wrex explained. "I don't think many amongst our people even know who this Mordin Solus is and why there is a memorial dedicated to him. They suspect that he's some kind of famous krogan warlord from the mythical Clan Solus," he added with derisive laughter.

"I'm named after a salarian," the krogan-Mordin said, scowling as she kicked a pebble.

"Haven't your father told you all about Mordin and his heroism?" Morgan asked, looking at the little krogan girl. "You should feel very honored by your name, child."

"Sure, he told me... didn't think he was for real..." Mordin muttered under her breath. "Dad likes to tell a lot of crazy tales!"

"With the things we went through together, kid, there's a good chance all of them are true," Morgan grinned.

"That is correct," Liara nodded. "And Shepard is right, you should feel honored, young one. Mordin Solus was a hero. He was fearless in the face of mortal danger and death itself, and he had admirable faith in his convictions."

"Well... okay. I guess that's kinda neat," the krogan-Mordin finally agreed after a ponderous pause. "Suppose that makes my name alright."

"It's a good name," Lita nodded fervently. "I like it."

"They have arrived," it was Bakara, interrupting their chat as the sounds of another tomkah approaching grew louder. "Grunt and Kurin are here."

"Took them long enough," Wrex grumbled, his face then twisting in a wicked grin. "Wouldn't surprise me if they had stopped along the way for a quick-" Here Wrex was forced to stop as Bakara hissed dangerously, pointing at the kids.

"For a quick what, dad?" Mordin asked, looking very curious.

"Err... quick... exchange of the... combustion manifold," Wrex finished lamely, then swiftly turning around and all but running towards Grunt's tomkah, the others in tow, looking on as the young Urdnot warlord carefully extracted himself from the tomkah, followed by an attractive asari in dark brown commando leathers, confident grin on her lips as she regarded the awaiting committee.

"Mom!" Grunt grabbed Morgan in the middle of the greeting process, crushing her tightly and slightly painfully in his embrace. "You don't visit often enough!" he released her with an accusing bellow.

"Daddy, why is the strange and scary krogan calling you his mom?" Lita asked, grabbing Morgan by the hand and pulling on it to attract her attention.

"That is an excellent question, kid. I wish I knew... but it's best not to argue with seven hundred kilos of flesh and metal," Morgan grinned.

"And this little pyjak is my half-sister," Grunt turned to Lita with a happy beam, the tiny asari having gotten over her fear of krogan rather quickly and not even flinching when Grunt approached her. "Ha, she is so small! Shepard, you don't feed her enough!"

"She is perfectly normal for an asari child of her age, Grunt," Liara patiently explained.

"Probably doesn't weigh more than a feather," Grunt laughed, scooping Lita in his arms before she could raise any protests, Morgan and Liara watching with slight concern, the asari again ready to use her biotics if necessary. "Don't worry, Shepard, I got this... big half-brother won't let you fall, promise," Grunt grinned to Lita, who much to Morgan's dismay didn't look too frightened.

"Big half-brother is only two years older than you, Lita," Morgan said with a smile on her lips.

"Really? Wow... wicked!" Lita exclaimed, her voice turning into a delighted squeal as Grunt threw her a few feet upwards, easily catching her as she fell.

"See, perfectly safe," Grunt roared, continuing to throw Lita up in the air, each time adding an extra foot, making the asari cheer all the more loudly.

"Hey Shepard, Liara," Kurin approached them, as they were still watching with slight, but slowly diminishing concern as Grunt kept playing with Lita.

"Good to see you, Kurin," Shepard smiled at the asari, keeping one eye on Grunt and Lita. "How was the Erszbat vacation?"

Kurin let out a short chortle. "Vacation, right," she grinned, doing a light stretching exercise, obviously sore from riding in the tomkah. "But it is a rich and beautiful world... and we should take the opportunity to use the resources it offers. Of course, the Reapers have smashed the infrastructure quite thoroughly, and the Ganar... well, they haven't done anything at all to rebuild, they just spent their time looting what they can and killing the last remaining batarians."

"How incredibly wasteful," Liara winced. "The krogan need a better plan for their new colony worlds."

"Well, that's exactly it," Kurin nodded. "I just told Wrex that he shouldn't view the colony worlds as a convenient way to dispose of his political opposition here on Tuchanka. We need to send there some of the more reasonable clans who would rebuild and resettle those worlds properly, and the krogan on Tuchanka would benefit from that in the long term."

"I agree with what Kurin is saying," Bakara spoke up as well. "Our positions are strong enough on Tuchanka to deal with the rabble rousers. We should send Clan Nakmor or Clan Khel to Kite's Nest, they are eager to go and have been our staunchest allies over the past years."

"Ugh, this is like being stuck at talks in the female camp back in the day," Wrex groaned. "Do this, do that, never hear the end of it. And fine, fine, I promise to consider it, just stop going on and on about it, alright?" he added with a growl.

"Well, you should simply do the right thing from the start and then we wouldn't have a reason to nag you to death, Wrex," Morgan grinned.

"We still would do, though, wouldn't we?" Kurin muttered under her breath.

"Of course we would, but he doesn't need to know about that," Morgan laughed. "Let him live in his blissful ignorance."

"Grunt, I think that's about enough, Lita is starting to get a little green in the face," Liara suddenly spoke up, interrupting their chat and Grunt quickly obeyed, safely catching Lita in his arms and then passing the slightly woozy but still deliriously happy child over to her mother.

"Uh, sorry... we got a bit carried away, I guess," he rumbled with a crooked and toothy grin. "By the way, does anyone have some food?" Grunt added a while later, looking around hopefully. "I'm hungry!"

"The whelp makes a good point," Wrex nodded seriously. "We should head back. I have a delicious flank of smoked varren with my name on it, waiting for me in the larder."

"Males..." Bakara sighed despondently. "All they can ever think of is to eat, drink and shoot each other."

"Hey, can't make important decisions on an empty stomach," Wrex replied defensively. "You alright with turning back, Shepard? Liara?"

"Sure... just give us a few more moments," Morgan nodded, starting to make a few steps back towards the Mordin Solus Memorial, Liara following her, carrying Lita in her arms. "Damn it, Liara... we need to make this thing work out with the krogan," she spoke, once they were out of the earshot of their friends. "Even if they are inclined to foolishness and self-destructive behavior, we need to make sure they don't throw their big chance away, because they're not getting another."

"Having the geth help them restore Tuchanka would be a big boost," Liara said softly. "It could provide them with the push that they need."

"I hope so too," Morgan spoke. "Because if it does not work out, it would mean that Mordin gave his life away for nothing. And I can't have someone like that Dalatrass Linron proven right about the krogan, posthumously or not. We need to make sure they get along with the geth."

"We'll make it work... and just imagine, maybe in hundred years we'll come back to this place... and this lovely memorial will be standing here in the shadow of mighty trees, surrounded by fertile green meadows..." Liara mused dreamily.

"Heh... that's probably too optimistic, but..." Morgan smiled, wrapping her arm around Liara's shoulders and leaning closer to kiss her bondmate. "Sometimes... sometimes it's just nice to dream..."


	21. The Great Parnack Expedition

_A/N: Another time skip of one year, barely noticeable. In other news, fortunately this chapter was prepared some time ago, because I certainly would not have had time and opportunity to proofread it, since I have spent last four days dealing with a medical emergency. Hopefully the situation improves, because without going into details, it has been pretty annoying to deal with. _

**Chapter 21 – The Great Parnack Expedition**

_Year 2195 CE  
Parnack, the yahg homeworld_

"So... Tevos didn't raise a storm about you going on this hunting trip?" Morgan asked, turning to Aria T'Loak, the Pirate Queen sitting next to Shepard in a seat at the back of the large transport shuttle.

"This is far more safe than what I do for living daily, Shepard," Aria chuckled at her. "She was not worried at all. In fact, she was relieved that I am coming to keep an eye on you, considering your propensity for getting into trouble."

"Are you sure it wasn't the other way around and I was supposed to keep an eye on you?" Morgan grinned.

"But I already know you can't keep your eyes off me, sweet thing," Aria drawled predictably, making Morgan sigh inwardly. "Anyway, I told Tevos to take a small vacation to Thessia, spend some time with the girls. Liara would appreciate the company as well, I'm sure."

"Yes, for some reason she was slightly agitated when I left, I should have been more insulted about her lack of faith in me," Shepard grumbled, keeping her voice down, since Garrus was still busy addressing the other members of the hunting expedition, speaking as he stood fully armed at the front of the shuttle.

Morgan and Aria had gone over the intel several times before joining up with the others, Garrus giving them a little head start. While little was catalogued of the faunae of Parnack, the slaughtered Council delegation and subsequent unsanctioned private forays had provided some information about the inhabitants of the planet and the conditions on the surface. Today, their prey was something called a wugu-beast, a massive six-legged creature that largely reminded Shepard of a giant scorpion. Size of a very large mammoth, spiky tail with a humongous and likely deadly poisonous stinger, a pair of massive pincers, this creature was not to be trifled with, having wiped out one of the private merc expeditions to Parnack. The footage left behind by one of the victims showed the creature taking them all by surprise, having burrowed under a dune of sand and suddenly emerging to quickly slay all the explorers.

Garrus had sent several squads of his own to make quick forays to the planet, simply flying in low orbit and gathering as much data as they could, trying to record places of yahg settlements to avoid, as well as the more likely places where the wugu-beasts might be found. All of Garrus' teams had returned safely, even if one had managed to fly too close to what looked like a yahg capital of sorts, learning that they had managed to develop fairly efficient GTAM systems.

The structure of the yahg society was still not very well researched, but they appeared to be following a strict clan structure, similar to the krogan, many settlements scattered throughout the surface of the vast planet and hidden well by the thick jungles that seemed to cover the entire world of Parnack. Garrus had chosen a location which did not have any yahg strongholds nearby, however, as he was currently explaining to the group of business-tycoons-turned-exotic-hunters, this did not mean that they could be certain of not encountering any member of the savage species, able to easily rip them all apart with bare arms.

Even though Garrus received a lot of tempting offers from willing participants, he never broke his rule about expanding the group to more than ten people. With Morgan and Aria taking two spots, the rest of the places were seized by four human businessman from Earth, the leader of some turian mercenary gang and his badass looking girlfriend, a wiry salarian intel broker who kept shooting worried glances at Aria, and a young asari maiden, her participation sponsored by her mother, a prominent matriarch back on Thessia. Curiously, for three of the humans, their entries had been purchased as birthday presents by their spouses, making Morgan suspect that the wives were seeking a convenient way to early inheritance. As for Shepard herself, Garrus had kindly agreed to keep her identity as secret, and so far nobody had recognized her, buying the explanation that she was simply Aria's henchwoman and latest paramour.

_Well, the salarian intel broker probably knows who I am, but it's not something he's going to share with the others,_ Morgan thought, listening to the last safety instructions that Garrus doled out for the others. Everyone present knew how to carry a gun, the two turians and the young asari looked fairly competent, and the humans were all hunting enthusiasts, taking great pleasure in slaughtering small birds and helpless animals back on Earth, in dreams of one day returning home with glorious trophies to boost about to their business partners. To say that hunting wugu-beasts on Parnack was a little out of their league was certainly not an understatement. Garrus clearly felt the same, having asked for credits in advance.

"This seems... like the tropical rainforests near Rio, where I did my N7 training," Morgan said, looking outside the shuttle window, trying to ignore the smooth curves of Aria's body pressing lightly against her as the asari leaned over her to stare outside.

"Hmm... this is going to be interesting," the Pirate Queen mused, having pulled back. "Won't be able to see anything in that thicket until they are right on top of us. You may as well leave that sniper rifle behind and pick something else. I'm going to pack my shotgun," she patted the heavily modded latest edition of Claymore on the seat next to her.

"I'm not really a shotgun girl, Aria," Morgan replied. "Though you do bring up a good point, Garrus also mentioned going with his assault rifle. He told me has modded one of his Phaeston's just the way I like it."

"That toy? Well... those better be some damn good mods, because that rifle is for the weaklings," Aria scowled, then getting interrupted by Garrus, speaking loud enough for his voice to reach them at the back of the shuttle.

"Attention everyone, we're coming in for the landing!" he shouted. "Remember what I told you about safety procedures, no wondering about on your own in the jungle, is that clear? I'm not going to go searching for your remains for the funeral, and I have your signed agreements to that effect."

"He's really trying to be dramatic and frighten them," Aria said with an exasperated eye roll.

"And doing a damn good job at it," Morgan nodded, watching the humans in particular being very tentative about getting out from the shuttle.

"We're going to set up our base camp here," Garrus waved around the slightly elevated clearing. With the thick jungle around them, it did not offer them any tactical advantage, but simply being clear of vegetation it meant that they didn't have to spend hours cutting down the gigantic fern like plants. Two turian shuttle pilots, also Garrus' henchmen, were busy carrying supplies out of the transport, and Garrus grabbed a crate of drones and waved for Aria and Shepard to approach him. "Aria, can I trust you and your girlfriend," he couldn't help looking extremely smug saying these words, "to set up these security drones around the perimeter? I don't want anything sneaking up on us."

"Aye, aye, Grand Huntsman Vakarian," Aria mock-saluted with another roll of her eyes, poking Shepard to grab the crate of drones and follow her into the jungle, Garrus uploading data to the asari's omni-tool to show where exactly on the grid he wanted the drones to be placed.

"You're really abusing this position of power, aren't you, Aria?" Morgan grumbled as they left the camp, Shepard following the asari into the thick jungle.

"I certainly am, that's the whole point of wielding power," Aria chuckled, using her omni-blade to slash the thick vines and ferns blocking their passage. "See, I'm being helpful here. So you better be thankful that I don't make you do **all** the work."

"Thanks a lot," Morgan sighed. "So... judging by how you're embracing this position... I'm guessing you're heavily into role-play?"

"Maybe... why, you have something in mind, Shepard? You also seem to be enjoying the role of being subservient to me..." Aria spoke huskily, pulling aside a thick branch and waiting until Morgan had passed through. "You know, with both of your hands tied up with that crate, nothing stops me from doing this..." the Pirate Queen said, retracting her omni-blade and moments later Morgan found her backside being roughly grabbed by the asari's wandering hands.

"You know, I can always drop this crate and beat you over the head with one of these drones," Morgan suggested, Aria laughing and letting go, moving ahead again to clear the path.

"I think this is the place where our dear Archangel wanted one of the drones," Aria said eventually, stopping and helping Shepard carefully lower the heavy crate. Morgan took a drone out of the storage box and activated it, syncing its software with her omni-tool and then manipulating the drone into floating three yards up in the air before making it attach itself to the thick trunk of the fern-tree.

"There, that's done with," Morgan said, having activated the security protocol of the drone. "We can move on to the next spot," she picked up the heavy crate again, Aria leading the way onwards.

"You know, Shepard... I'm thinking that if our paths had crossed twenty years earlier..." Aria began to speak again, vigorously slashing the canopy with her omni-blade and appearing to take great enjoyment from it. "I think I would have claimed you as mine. We'd have had so much fun on Omega. That couch would have seen plenty of action, let me tell you."

"Would I have had any choice not to go along with that?" Morgan asked, a little exasperated at Aria's confidence and smug certainty.

"Oh, please, you wouldn't let me treat you like you do, if you were completely indifferent to me," Aria clicked her tongue knowingly. "Just tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong," Morgan said quickly. _Okay, so maybe she isn't wrong, but she sure as hell doesn't need to know that._

"And you're a terrible liar, Shepard," Aria laughed. "Anyway, put the next drone down here," she said once they had reached the next spot, then repeating the same process until all eight drones had been placed along the grid to cover all possible approaches to the camp.

"Say, Aria... does this look to you like the habitat of something like that wugu-beast?" Morgan asked as they were on their way back to the camp.

"No, but I think the security drones are meant more for possible yahg attacks," Aria replied. "And you are correct, there is no way a wugu could live in this jungle. If it tried to sneak on us here, we would hear it coming a mile away. I think that Vakarian simply did not want to set a camp in completely plain sight."

"Probably not," Morgan nodded as they arrived back in the small clearing, Garrus having set up a small command center with a holo screen that currently displayed their location on the grid, explaining something to the rest of the expedition while waiting for their return.

"Alright, now that we are all here," Garrus began, rubbing his hands impatiently. "As you can see, this is our position," he pointed at the small dot representing their camp. "We are roughly four miles from the edge of the jungle, leading to a large plateau with more sparse vegetation and rockier ground. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the hunting ground of the wugu-beast. The last scouting trip that my assistants took four days ago, revealed the presence of our prey in this region. Now we just need to get there, track it and kill it."

"How do we actually kill it?" one of the humans asked.

"That's the beauty of hunts like these, my friends," Garrus replied cheerfully. "We don't really know, and it's up for us to discover just how to kill this beast! The thrill to be the first in the galaxy to kill a monster such as this... just think of the prestige you will gain by claiming a piece of a giant wugu-claw as a trophy!"

That got the humans really excited again, while Morgan sighed, leaning closer to Aria. "Is he shitting them, or he really doesn't have a clue?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, he doesn't have a clue," Aria grinned back. "This sort of crazy shit gets him going, I can tell. It's almost endearing... if not for the massive pole up his ass..."

"So... theoretically, that wugu could be impervious to all those weapons we have brought with us," Morgan said, starting to have some belated second thoughts.

"Well, yes... but you'll always have the help of biotics, Shepard," Aria replied, a brief blue glow surrounding her hands. "If weapons can't make a dent into the bastard, my biotics will."

"Let's hope so," Morgan nodded, as Garrus was still answering questions from the other hunters, such as what equipment was considered legal, why did they have to split up on their approach to the plateau and several other inconsequential queries.

Shortly after the little Q&A session they were all set to go, even if Garrus still hadn't come up with a particularly satisfying reason for splitting them into three smaller groups. The official answer stated that it was done to make sure that they covered more ground and stood better chance at tracking the elusive wugu. Morgan's own theory was that it was done to needlessly endanger them all, but of course she did not dare to voice it and earn the enmity of their glorious leader and her peers. In the end, Garrus took the young asari and the salarian with him, the other groups made out of the two turian mercs and a pair of humans, leaving the two other excited businessmen to trail Aria and Morgan through the thick jungles on their way towards the plateau.

The humans they were stuck with, eventually tried to strike up a conversation with Morgan, all the while trying to keep away from Aria as far as possible. They were only too happy to let Morgan know more about themselves than she actually cared to know, learning that one of the middle-aged men was the CEO of a leading pharmacy company in Australia, while the Japanese looking fellow apparently owned large stakes in various segments of the adult industry. This made his question of what a sweet, young girl like her was doing in Aria's service sound particularly disturbing to Morgan, and Aria certainly did not appreciate the way the man's eyes constantly seemed to follow Shepard.

When the wily little man had for the third time whispered to Morgan that he would pay her double than what Aria was currently paying her, if only she came to work for him, Aria finally lost her patience. "Listen, you little piece of shit," the asari said, brandishing her shotgun at the frightened porn emperor. "My employees know better than to betray me, since they know that they would find themselves lying dead in the gutter as soon as they do so." She snaked her hand around Morgan's midriff. "Besides, this one has earned certain perks of the job... your unsuccessful attempt to lure her away is the greatest insult you could inflict upon me."

"I... uh, forgive me, Ms. T'Loak... I meant no disrespect," the frightened porn emperor muttered apologetically. "It will not happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Aria glared before turning to Morgan, grinning salaciously. "Tell them that working for me is the best thing that has happened to you, my pet."

"Of course, Aria, the perks alone make it so," Morgan grinned back, getting into the role as well, happy to fool around with the two pigeons following them around. "Of course, if this guy offered me the same perks as you bestow on me, Mistress, I would have thrown up on his boots."

"Well, I believe that settles the dispute," Aria nodded, then releasing Morgan and activating her omni-tool, alerted by a soft beep of incoming message. "Garrus and his team have reached the edge of the plateau," she said, having read the notification. "Let's get moving unless we want to see them grabbing all the spoils."

The two humans immediately appeared motivated by Aria's words, surging ahead and vigorously if inefficiently slashing at the thick vines, but soon enough their efforts slowed from exhaustion, Aria and Morgan exchanging amused smirks and moving ahead again to pick up the slack. After ten more minutes of slow crawling through the thicket, the forest seemed to gradually become more sparse, large boulders starting to appear in their path as the fern-trees finally gave way, letting them stumble out onto the rocky plateau.

"You'd think that something like this wugu-beast would be easy to spot out here in the open," Aria cursed after they had spent twenty more minutes circling around the perimeter that Garrus had assigned to them. The other teams hadn't yet had any luck in scouring the plateau either, not finding even a trace of their gigantic and elusive prey.

Morgan nodded, silently agreeing that it was a little odd, considering that the recon had seen signs of the beast nearby. Still, the plateau was not completely barren, there were small copses of trees and scattered large rocks everywhere, obscuring their view and also creating perfect ambush opportunities, something that worried her greatly. "We should try to find a strategic vantage point from which to obtain a good view," she mused thoughtfully, then patting the trusty Widow on her back. "You know, now I'm glad I didn't listen to you and Garrus and brought it along, the scope will come in handy after all."

"If only we could spot that wugu-beast by tracking heat signatures," the Australian drug lord whined.

"Hey, it's Vakarian and his bloody rules here, and we all agreed to them," Aria shrugged, not wanting to even consider giving up or cheating. "What about that hill?" the asari suggested, pointing to a large grey rock atop an elevated hillock ahead of them. "That should offer an excellent view with your sniper scope."

"Yeah, that'll work," Morgan agreed, the two of them proceeding to climb up the rather steep hill, the two humans deciding to remain at the base, which was probably wise of them. After a little bit of struggle, Aria reached the top of the hill first, reaching out and helping Shepard climb the last few steps.

"Ah, this is perfect," Aria exclaimed, looking around from the hilltop in every direction, suddenly freezing when she was facing west, then pulling Morgan around to take a look as well. "Damn it, Shep, are my eyes fooling me or is that smoke?" she asked, pointing at a wispy trail stretching skywards, maybe three to four miles away from them.

"That's definitely smoke," Morgan replied worriedly, not liking the sign. She unstrapped the Widow and peered into the scope. "Shit, it's an abandoned camp, and definitely not ours."

"Well, I don't think the wugu makes a nice pretty campsite for itself, friends and the family," Aria muttered.

"No, has to be a yahg party," Morgan nodded. "Damn it, that's not good. Maybe they're out here hunting too? Anyway, we should let Garrus and the other teams know."

"In a moment... can you see any signs of our prey first, though?" Aria asked impatiently.

"Hmm... no, nothing yet," Morgan replied, carefully scanning the area through the scope. "You know, I've been thinking... the way this wugu was able to ambush that first group that encountered it... it's probably quite skilled at camouflage."

"Come on, Shepard, it's a thirty yard long giant scorpion, where is it going to hide?" Aria laughed.

"I don't know, but-... damn it, Aria, stop that," Morgan said, finding herself suddenly rocked back and forth, likely because of an ill-timed practical joke by Aria.

"Uh, that wasn't me, Shepard," Aria replied.

"What the-" Morgan started to speak again, but the next violent shake threw them both off their feet.

"Shepard... I have a bad feeling about this," Aria groaned, as the 'rock' moved again, shifting and suddenly changing shape.

"Yeah... because this is no rock!" Morgan shouted, spotting a massive claw appearing above them, about to come down and smash them flat against the massive beast's hardened carapace. "Jump!" she yelled, pulling Aria with her, as the claw descended in a swift stroke...

* * *

_Armali, Thessia _

With a serene smile on her lips, Liara stared out from the windows of Aria's estate on Thessia. Before her spread the lush and well-maintained garden, the koi'lo bushes in full bloom now, covered with tiny white blossoms, looking as if they were covered by soft, fluffy layer of snow. Her smile broadened as she watched her daughter Lita emerging from underneath one of the bushes with a determined look on her face. Having noticed her mother watching her, the little asari beamed at Liara, making some kind of complicated gesture with her hand.

It did not take long for Liara to understand what her daughter had meant, noticing Rila approaching with soft steps, looking around and trying to spot either Lita or her sister Falere, currently having their turn hiding in this game of hide-and-seek, something universally played by children of all species in the galaxy as far as Liara's research had shown. Smiling, she made a barely perceptible nod in Rila's direction to warn Lita, her daughter winking at her and then disappearing back under the bush to dodge her dogged pursuer.

"Rila and Falere have truly taken to Lita," she was slightly startled as Tevos came to stand by her side at the window. "And it is no wonder, she is a lovely child. It warms my heart watching them play like this, free from all cares and concerns."

Liara nodded with a happy smile. "Yes, they seem to be bonding very well," she agreed. "They both have at least two if not three centuries on Lita, so it amazes me how well they are getting along."

"It does not surprise me at all, Liara. They both have led such sheltered lives, remaining naive and innocent, almost childlike on many levels. It is no wonder that they are getting along so well," Tevos smiled, her expression turning a little somber as she regarded Liara. "And yet... they have almost two centuries on you. In a perfect galaxy... you should be out there, with them, just as joyful and carefree... yet, with what you have gone through, Liara," the councilor sighed deeply before continuing. "You should have been like one of them. So much has been taken from you... so many things that never should have been stolen, not so early..."

"Yes... but it was not stolen without a good reason. So much has been gained in return," Liara replied quietly. "If not for the Reapers... I would have never met Shepard. Lita would not have been born. I would have not lost my mother, but at least I regained my father..."

"If not for the Reapers, I would have never become culpable for the loss of billions..." Tevos said, her voice dripping thick with suppressed guilt. "But I would have never become reunited with Aria. You and Shepard would have never rescued the girls from the Lesuss monastery. And my life would have remained ever cold and lonely."

"To say that the good outweighs the bad in all of this feels so very inconsiderate towards all those who lost their lives in the war... but sometimes I cannot help but to think these thoughts. Morgan and Lita... they make me feel that way," Liara sniffled.

"I know exactly what you mean," Tevos wrapped a comforting arm around Liara's shoulder, the maiden leaning into the matron's supportive embrace. "I often feel undeserving to be blessed with once again having family and friends like you... I would be lost without Aria and all of you..."

"Will the hurt and the pain ever go away completely?" Liara wondered quietly. "I would like to offer some platitudes that you should not blame yourself for what happened, but... I think we both know it is not as easy."

"Perhaps not, but our circumstances are different. While I deserve to carry the weight of my decisions until it is my time to become one with the oceans, I do feel that you are tormenting yourself needlessly, Liara," Tevos said softly. "Your daughter will find her own way in life, you need to believe that. She carries the best of you and Shepard... she could never become lost. You need to start believing that. You need to start believing in her."

"I... I do... it's just... so difficult to let go..." Liara managed. "Please... I will think on your words, Tevos, but let us speak of it no more... my heart wishes to be sad no more when graced with your presence. Let us seek distraction and merriment, and try to rid ourselves of these gloomy thoughts," she said, pressing her cheek against the councilor's shoulder, feeling the older asari responding by lowering her head and brushing lightly against the tops of Liara's crests.

"Yes, that would be most wise," Tevos agreed readily. "Aria and Shepard have landed on Parnack by now. I do hope that Aria sends me a message soon, even if I have full confidence that she knows what she is doing. And Shepard's presence there does reassure me."

"And even if they both get into trouble, Garrus will be there to bail them out, yes," Liara nodded, looking more at ease. "But I still think I require more than simple conversation to provide me with adequate distraction. Would you honor me with a game of _kamisi_?"

A confident smile spread on Tevos' lips as she turned to reply. "That is a bold invitation, Liara. You know that my father was a volus, and we played that game every week."

"Oh, I am sure that you will find me an adequate opponent," Liara said, never one to back down from a challenge. "Besides, I am sure that you played the original version as it was invented on Irune. I learned the asari variant when I was mere twenty, we spent many evenings playing it with Shiala and the other commandos in Benezia's service."

"Then perhaps you are capable of providing me with worthy opposition," Tevos eventually acceded. "I accept your proposal, with the condition that we will play out in the garden. The weather is too lovely for us to spend time cooped up inside."

Smiling and idly chatting, the pair left the estate through the back entrance, barefoot as they walked down a meandering path of colorful pebbles, surrounded by flowerbeds, until finding a comfortable place to sit, a small patch of short trimmed grass, in the shade provided by the large leathery leaves of a vayran tree. Together, they slowly began to lay out the table and all the complementary pieces, taking up two rather large boxes.

"I understand that humans have something similar to this game as well," Tevos spoke as they both worked. "Have you had the opportunity to experiment with it?"

"Oh... I'm afraid that it... was not quite as intellectually stimulating as Morgan made it sound," Liara looked up at Tevos, blushing lightly. "I... did not have the heart to tell her that this 'Monopoly' of hers is twenty times more simplistic than _kamisi_, which in turn is an extremely simplified version of the volus original."

"It is true, sometimes a single game I played with my father could last up to three months. Though, this could also be because he was always so very busy managing his real financial investments and hardly ever could find the time," Tevos smiled softly at the memory. "But even _kamisi_ can take up to eight hours if the two opponents are evenly matched... are you prepared for that, Liara?"

"Bring it on, my friend," Liara spoke challengingly, watching carefully as Tevos dealt them both their starting resources, investments and various other tools with which to craft their respective financial empires. Having come to know Tevos very well over the past ten years, Liara knew that her character would reflect in the way she played the game, conservatively trying to develop her own positions at first and only providing small, token interruptions to Liara's plans. Liara, on the other hand, while not being overly aggressive, tried to throw a wrench in Tevos' expansion plans, but while the councilor's style of play was largely predictable, she had so many contingencies in place that after two hours of play Liara was starting to felt a little frustrated and out of ideas on how to break Tevos' defenses down. The councilor's plan was quite clear, she was more than content to engage in a tiring battle of attrition, wearing Liara's patience down slowly but surely.

Another hour passed, and having noticed a small yawn escaping Liara's lips, Tevos called for a pause in the play, asking one of the estate servants to bring them some refreshments, as they both were more than content to take a small break and relax their minds from the draining intellectual exercise.

"Can I ask you-" Liara suddenly began to speak, but then stopped, blushing and averting her eyes as Tevos regarded her curiously.

"Please, Liara, I do not want to lose any sleep wondering what was on your mind," the matron looked at the younger asari encouragingly.

"I... no, I can't, I realized too late that it was something too private," Liara muttered, her blush deepening.

"Liara, you can't tell me something like that and then refuse to elaborate," Tevos chided her gently. "That would be considered most rude."

"It was foolish of me to even think of it. I know the strength of Morgan's love and devotion towards me," Liara spoke, her eyes lowered as if she were ashamed. "I know that I do not have any reason to doubt her commitment to me."

"Is this about Aria?" Tevos asked softly.

"Yes, I... I realized that I had no idea what she truly feels towards Shepard, but it was stupid... after all, you do know Aria's feelings, and if there was something that you were not comfortable with..."

"There, you answered your own question, Liara," the councilor chuckled, a little amused at the maiden's endearing concern. "Like you have no reason to doubt Shepard, I have no reason to doubt Aria. I feel the strength of her devotion to me, and I also know the nature of her feelings towards you, and towards Shepard. And there is nothing about it that makes me uncomfortable."

Liara looked up at Tevos, very curious now, almost as if begging her to elaborate further, but the councilor merely shook her head. "But I am afraid that I cannot share this with you, Liara. To do so would break the sacred trust of the bond that I share with Aria. You must understand this."

"I do, of course," Liara quickly nodded. "I did not mean to be so untoward, I apologize most profusely."

"Do not apologize," Tevos smiled. "But if you ever want to know the truth, you know what to do. You simply need to ask Aria."

"Oh, no... no, I could not do that!" Liara blinked, once again being made to blush deep purple. "She would tease me mercilessly about it, and probably would not even give me a straight answer. Or... or she would insist that she could only share it with me in a meld..."

"But you have melded with her before," Tevos pointed out.

"Yes, but necessity to save my child's life is an acceptable reason," Liara said. "Simple and foolish curiosity... is not."

"Does Aria still make you nervous?"

"No... not as much as she used to, at least," Liara managed. "But... I am still considerable way from sharing something personal and intimate with her. And I'm not sure that she would even agree to indulge my curiosity in this!"

There was a strange, slightly amused flicker in Tevos' eyes, but before Liara could ask anything else, the councilor turned her attention back to the game board. "Well... I feel rested enough to continue," she said, stretching her back a little before settling into a comfortable position on the grass. "I believe it is your move, Liara... unless you decide to forfeit?"

"Not on your life, Tevos," Liara shook her head, clearing it from any other distracting thoughts and plopped down on the soft patch of grass, as the twin financial empires resumed their deadly struggle.


	22. Mighty Yahg Huntresses

**Chapter 22 – Mighty Yahg Huntresses **

_Year 2195 CE  
Parnack, the yahg homeworld_

"Shit... this is not good..." Morgan muttered, breathing heavily, wincing from the pain in her left shoulder, result of the daring jump to safety after the wugu-beast had ambushed them.

"I'll say," Aria echoed, close by. "Why did you think that hiding in here would be a good idea? We should have just kicked the scaly ass of that thing!"

"It kinda had a jump on us, Aria... I didn't want to risk it and then have to explain to Tevos and the girls that their bondmate and stepfather isn't coming back because she got torn to pieces by the claws of a giant scorpion!" Morgan retorted, a little annoyed.

"Fair enough, but... how is hiding in a dismal pit of a cave any better?" Aria did not relent. With extreme reluctance, Morgan was forced to admit that the Pirate Queen did have a point. With the wugu-beast hot in pursuit, Morgan had pulled the asari into what looked like a mouth of a cave at the base of the hill, but it had turned out to be a very narrow crevice with barely enough room for them both. And much to their dismay, the wugu hadn't set to chase the fleeing drug lord and porn emperor, instead setting up camp at the cave exit, time and again trying to poke at them with the massive and sharp pincers, not allowing them to escape from their hideout.

"I hope those two useless morons eventually stop panicking and remember to poke Garrus on the comms," Morgan sighed, watching the beast outside make scratching noises, sounding more and more determined to get to its prey.

"Why don't you contact Vakarian yourself?" Aria asked impatiently.

"For some reason the comms are down," Morgan muttered, feeling increasingly irritated. "Something in my kit must have taken a knock. Fuck... give it a try, Aria."

"Let's see..." the Pirate Queen said, activating the comms, being greeted only by the buzz of static on all the channels. "Damn, maybe it's not a problem with the gear, perhaps there's something about this cave, blocking the signal..."

"Well, I'll try leaving a message on his omni anyway, maybe it will eventually get through," Shepard said, somehow wrenching her hand free and starting to poke around on her omni-tool... until suddenly finding herself yanked towards Aria as the asari gave a sharp cry of warning. Wide-eyed, Morgan turned to see the wugu-beast's spiky tail with the needle sharp stinger shining where her head had been moments ago. "God... I hate that fucking thing... geez... thanks Aria, I owe you a big one," she managed to utter, knowing that unless the asari had pulled her aside, the stinger would have pierced her skull, resulting in a nasty and messy death.

"Save it, Shepard... we're not in safety just yet," Aria warned, watching how the stinger came closer and closer as the wugu-beast maneuvered its tail to stick it deeper into the crevice. "Come on, we need to try and move further away... there's no telling how far that beast can reach with its tail, and I have no interest in finding out."

"Good point... it's a bit of a tight squeeze, though..." Morgan looked deeper into the narrow crevice, feeling a little uncertain.

"Let's put it this way... do you want to stay here and die?" Aria snapped, with unease watching the stinger move ever closer.

"Okay, I'm sold," Morgan finally nodded, together with Aria starting to move deeper into the crevice, huffing and puffing as the enclosing walls squeezed them almost painfully tightly against each other, both of them stopping only when they had moved at least a couple of yards clear of the stinger. The wugu-beast was now struggling to move its tail any deeper into the cave, the pair relaxing and stopping, knowing that they had reached safety, at least from the wickedly barbed wugu tail.

"That should do it..." Aria grunted. "Get your omni and text Vakarian, quickly... I don't want to be stuck here for too long."

"Uh... speaking of stuck..." Morgan groaned, desperately trying to loosen her hand from wherever it was wedged, all efforts completely unsuccessful thus far. She struggled for a minute or so until finally stopping, looking into Aria's perplexed face. "Err... can you move a little?"

"Not a chance," Aria shook her head. "I'm completely glued in here, Shepard. That's it... we're not moving anywhere... brilliant, just brilliant. I can hardly breathe here!"

"Yeah... we overdid it a bit," Morgan exhaled, barely succeeding in not letting out a soft groan of pain. At least her flexible form fitting infiltration suit and Aria's commando leathers were nothing like real hardsuits, which would have made the experience unbearably painful. Under other circumstances, pressed tightly like sardines in a can, feeling every contour of Aria's body, Morgan realized that it might have felt incredibly arousing for her, but when taking every breath was difficult and painful, and while still finding themselves in mortal danger, she found herself less than thrilled about their situation.

"Damn it..." Aria moaned, trying to shift herself just a fraction, gasping for breath. "Shepard, your tits are too big."

"Speak for yourself, Miss Busty," Morgan snapped, instantly regretting it as Aria moved again, something sharp jabbing into her stomach, exerting unbearable pressure on her solar plexus. She cried out in agony and frustration, pushing herself away from Aria, eventually managing to settle herself slightly more comfortably, still completely stuck, but at least not being crushed to death and being able to breathe. "Geez... that's better..." she finally sighed.

"There's nothing even remotely good about our situation, much as I would otherwise enjoy rubbing up against you, Shepard," Aria growled with irritation. "We are stuck here until the others rescue us... this isn't what I hoped to get out of this trip, Shepard!"

"Well... at this point getting out of here safely would be-" Shepard started to speak, but then her words were interrupted by a violent crash at the mouth of the cave, dust and a shower of small pebbles raining down on them. "Fuck... what the hell is happening now?"

* * *

_Citadel, Serpent Nebula_

"Kasumi? Kasumi, can you hear me? Where the hell are you... weren't we supposed to meet on the Citadel?" Spectre Miranda Lawson demanded impatiently, waiting for the extranet connection to load the supplemental video feed, finally revealing the worried face of her friend and fellow Spectre.

"Oh... hey, Miranda," Kasumi replied, looking guilty and sad. "I... I'm sorry, but there was an emergency, and I had to leave in a hurry... I completely forgot to inform you."

"Why, what's wrong?" Miranda prodded, a little more gently now, sensing that something was affecting Kasumi in a bad way.

"I had to return to Nasurn on short notice..."

Miranda realized immediately, her face falling as well. "Is he alright? What's the situation?" she asked quickly.

"It's nothing too serious, but the very fact that he has fallen ill three times in two months... I spoke with the family doctor, and they confirmed that his immune system is beginning to collapse," Kasumi sniffed.

_I think she told me earlier that he's thirty-nine now... twilight of a salarian's life... damn their short life spans,_ Miranda felt a little depressed, facing the unpleasant and inevitable truth, knowing that she was powerless to help Kasumi, to stop what was happening. "I can go there, do something to help, just be with you," she offered, watching Kasumi shaking her head in reply.

"Don't, Miri... it's sweet of you to offer, but now that he has accepted the fact that he won't be able to return to work, forced to take things easy, it might take a year... if not more," the petite ex-thief explained.

"I'm sorry, Kasumi."

"I knew what I was in for, Miri," Kasumi said quietly, then blowing her nose. "It was... worth it, really. Keiji and I were together for six years, and I didn't think we'd improve on that with Jondum, but we did... it's been a good run, and we're not done just yet..."

"I admire your courage, my friend," Miranda said quietly, knowing that while Kasumi was putting a brave face on, she was hurting deep inside. _And even if she is at peace with it, it still hurts watching a friend go through something like that. _

"Eh, I'll be fine, Miri," Kasumi eventually shrugged. "You did at first want to meet because of something work related, though? Please, could we discuss that? I need something else to focus on, a distraction."

"If you're sure..." Miranda started, Kasumi interrupting her by nodding fervently. "Being Councilor Hackett's eyes on Earth is oftentimes a very boring assignment, but now and then I stumble upon some very peculiar developments. Watching how these new power bases emerge and develop is an interesting process, and often untangling some of these complicated webs of intrigue is very difficult. New faces are constantly on the rise, and it is hard to remain on top of all these changes... but lately, I have been watching one new face in particular..."

"Oh? Do tell!" Kasumi urged.

"Last week Prime Minister Berezin suspended his previous financial advisor, who is now facing charges of corruption," Miranda explained. "Two days ago, a new financial advisor was elected, a young parliamentarian from the ranks of Terra Firma. Have you heard anything about that?" Kasumi shrugged her shoulders, then giving a quick shake of her head. "The new advisor is a young woman by the name of Katherine Hock."

"Hock? As in... Donovan Hock?" Kasumi blinked.

"His daughter," Miranda confirmed.

"Well, if she's a problem, just use her father's criminal past to expose her, problem solved?"

"It won't work," now it was Miranda's turn to shake her head. "She's been very much upfront about her past, has made public penance for her father's sins and has been doing charity work for many years, gaining immense popularity on Earth."

"Hmm... either she's genuinely remorseful or extremely intelligent and manipulative... probably the latter, since you've been watching her... so I guess you don't believe she's so squeaky clean?" Kasumi asked.

"I don't trust anyone, especially if they look almost too clean to be genuine," Miranda grinned. "I'm going to move to New Arc and watch her for a few months. Her rise through the ranks is... a little too meteoric, and thus suspicious. Not to mention her brother..."

"Damn, Hock had even more children? He certainly kept very quiet about them," Kasumi sighed.

"Yes, he had a son and a daughter, raised in secret on Ilium," Miranda explained. "Her brother still works there as an intel broker. Passes off as a small fry, but... maybe not so small. I don't know yet."

"A politician whose brother is an information broker?" Kasumi's eyes narrowed as she pondered upon something. "That's not a good combination. Ripe blackmail opportunities."

"It would certainly explain a lot, yes," Miranda nodded. "However, I have no proof that any of them are guilty of wrongdoing. And information broker is a perfectly legal occupation in Council space... besides, every politician employs some kind of intel gatherers, they're just usually not part of the family. Still, it's not considered to be a crime as such."

"Has she actually done anything suspicious or questionable during her rise to power?" Kasumi asked. "I mean, it doesn't sound as if you have much more on her other than the Hock family name, and her brother's connections. And we know that half of the parliament is a corrupt bunch of crooks who are exploiting the post-war situation for their own benefit. Seems like there would be more interesting people to watch, or am I missing something here?"

"Well, the problem is that I know most of those crooks very well, I know what they want, I know their motives and I can read them as an open book. This one... I've no idea what her game plan is. If she truly wanted to help people, she could have continued her charity work," Miranda shrugged. "Anyway, I just thought you might be interested, considering the family name."

"Yeah, it's something to keep in mind," Kasumi nodded. "I didn't mean to appear ungrateful, I really appreciate the tip, Miri."

"In that case, perhaps you can find something out for me," Miranda smiled. "Once Bau's health improves, I could use another trusted set of eyes doing a brief recon on Ilium."

"You want to know more about the company her brother works for?" Kasumi understood immediately.

"Yes, exactly," Miranda nodded quickly. "I want you to gather whatever intel you can on a certain Mr. Jonathan Hock..."

* * *

_Parnack, the yahg homeworld_

Garrus narrowed his eyes, peering through the scope of his heavily modified sniper rifle, together with his two companions hiding behind the sparse vegetation atop of another gently sloping hill. "And there is our prey," he said, watching the massive wugu-beast angrily tearing at something at the base of another knoll.

"What's it doing?" asked Miorilei, the young daughter of a Thessian matriarch. "Looks like it's chipping away at the very rock down there!"

"Pincers frightening, close quarters encounter not advised," muttered Ish, the shifty salarian information broker from Omega.

"I'm not sure what exactly it is doing," Garrus muttered. "But I don't like the fact that I have not heard anything from Aria's group. We're waiting for the signal from the third group, as soon as they are in position, we will move." The turian felt rather nervous, and not just because Shepard had failed to get in touch. Something had also triggered an alarm back at the base camp a few minutes ago, but he wasn't going to tell that to others just yet. There was nothing to be done about that right now anyway.

"Accuracy unreliable at current range," Ish mumbled. "Suggest positions closer to target."

"What about you, Miorilei?" Garrus asked, knowing that the salarian had a point. He would be able to make a clean and precise hit from the range of four hundred yards, but the others obviously did not possess his marksmanship, and their weapons were calibrated sub-optimally.

"I'm pretty sure I can hit the thing," the asari replied confidently. "But if you want me to make a precision strike... that order is a bit too tall for me."

"Just try to go for something that doesn't look protected by the thick carapace, and switch to your biotics in case it gets closer," Garrus advised, hearing a voice speaking up on the comms, recognizing the flanged tones of his fellow turian, informing him that the other group had taken positions nearby, lining up shots at the raging beast, trying to dig into the cliff itself. "Alright, on my signal... three... two... one... go!" he shouted on the comms, opening fire.

At first, Garrus was not quite certain where the bullet from his sniper rifle had hit the beast, but the reaction it caused was quite spectacular. The monstrous scorpion suddenly did almost like a back flip from the incredible pain, letting out a sharp, scratching high-pitched noise that momentarily paralyzed them all. Most of the other shots also connected, but did not seem to cause the beast any significant damage, aside from further enraging the monstrosity.

The turian peered through the scope of his rifle again, trying to notice where he had struck the wugu, a difficult task as the beast was thrashing and running around in circles, failing to spot its attackers. "Everyone, hold your positions," he spoke on the comms, finally noticing where his shot had hit. One side of the beast's head was covered with blood and gore, as the wugu was now partially blinded. "Don't give yourselves away, it hasn't seen us yet. Wait for my command-"

Just then, a single shot reverberated across the open plains, striking the wugu in one of its legs, but also succeeding at attracting its attention as Garrus quickly turned around and glared at the guilty looking salarian. However, he was forced to quickly swallow the stream of expletives on his tongue, because the wugu-beast was closing in fast, approaching as a fast incoming train. "Singularity in its path, NOW!" Garrus barked quickly, seeing that Miorilei was close to panicking at the sight of the beast. Upon hearing his voice, however, some instincts kicked in and the young asari snapped herself back into action, summoning her biotics in the path of the beast. "Detonate!" the turian yelled, young Miorilei obeying immediately and her warp projectile exploded the singularity field right as the wugu-beast was on top of it, stunning it momentarily.

That was all the moment that Garrus needed, quickly taking aim with his rifle and pressing the trigger. The bullet exploded in the unmarred side of the beast's head, causing another shriek and now effectively blinding the wugu. "There, that's how you serve a wugu-beast on a platter," the turian chuckled smugly on the comms. "Get in there kids and finish that thing off. Try to keep the pincers and the tail with the stinger unblemished, they'll make the best trophies."

As the others began to carefully converge upon the wounded beast, Garrus was already on his way towards the other knoll where the wugu had been digging into the rock, the turian having immediately lost interest in the already defeated foe. _Damn it, Shepard, you better be alright, or else Liara is going to smear me against a wall in a biotic rage... and Aria, that would be a bad way to lose such a profitable business partner,_ Garrus thought, having reached the other hill, immediately noticing what the beast had been clawing at. At the bottom of the knoll, there loomed a narrow cave mouth, now in danger of collapsing after the wugu had been hacking at it vigorously.

"Shepard? Aria?" he called out, trying to keep his voice reasonably low. He gently squeezed into the cave, a difficult feat considering that he was wearing his set of heavy armor, cautiously peering downwards deeper into the cave, illuminated by the beam of light from his omni-tool, then blinking at the sight that opened up to his eyes, Shepard and Aria pressed close against each other in a slightly compromising position. "...do I even want to know what you two are doing down there?" he asked, having overcome the initial surprise. "Damn, I could probably get a big pile of credits if I took a picture of you two now and then auctioned it on the extranet. Mind you, Liara would probably skin you alive, Shepard."

"Stop being a complete idiot, Vakarian," Aria hissed. "The beast chased us in here, and we used this place to hide."

"Yeah, get your mind out of the gutter, Garrus," Shepard added, giving him an angry glare. "Despite what you might think, we didn't crawl in here for a session of sexy shenanigans."

"Well, the evil beast is gone and probably dead by now, so you two can come out, it's perfectly safe out here," Garrus said smugly.

"What?" Aria fumed. "Shepard, damn it, your fat ass stole my kill from me!"

"Oh, shut up you slutty trollop, your boobs are still in my way," Shepard retorted angrily.

"Why don't you two settle your differences **after** getting out of this cave?" Garrus asked, starting to become a little exasperated.

"Yes... about that..." Aria said, looking a little embarrassed. "There's a slight problem..."

"Well, to put it short," Shepard added, turning slightly red-faced. "Garrus, we kinda need your help to get out of here because we're completely stuck..."

Garrus blinked, looking from Aria to Shepard, then back to Aria, before doing something that he knew he would be made to regret later. He started to laugh like an utter madman.

* * *

_Somewhere in Sentry Omega cluster_

Feron leaned back in the pilot's chair of his heavily repurposed ship, a large corvette that had once belonged to the Alliance Naval Exploration Flotilla. It had everything his new job as the Shadow Broker required, just enough room to put in all the information consoles and terminals, leaving enough tiny space for sleeping quarters, a small kitchenette and bathroom facilities.

Having done his hour's long monitoring of the agent reports, it had become a custom to then move into the pilot's cabin, lean back in the seat, stare at the starry sky and simply spend an hour or so in introspection, pondering how to act on the newest intel. At first, he had been rather reluctant to take up the job, agreeing to it only because it was Liara who had asked, and... well, he just couldn't say no to the asari that had come to mean so much to him. But eventually, the entire role had rather grown up on him. The information that flowed through those data terminals, there was so much good he could do with it... _do good, yes, now that the Reapers are gone, that is what Liara would want me to use the network for... to do some good for this galaxy, to help in its rebuilding. I... I think she would be proud of me._

Amongst today's reports were news about a corrupt salarian politician, trying to apply his influence to withdraw his vast and illegally accumulated deposits from a recently collapsed private banking trust on Sur'Kesh. This one was an easy decision for Feron, he would use his agents to offer this intel to both press and the politician's rivals, seeing who was going to pay more, then sell the intel, both cleaning up the political scene from a corrupt bastard, and making a tidy profit, after covering the expenses of his agents. Another agent reported that krogan councilor Urdnot Ngagong had taken an asari mistress on the Citadel. Feron decided to file this report away and not do anything with it. Ngagong, together with Wrex, brought some stability and predictability to the krogan, it was not in anyone's interest to shake up the fragile peace there.

The final bit of reports was more challenging. An influential human businessman, operating out of Benning, was making overtures towards criminal groups about secretly securing two hundred slaves to work in his privately owned mines on Therum. There was not much that Feron could do with this intel, other than to leak it to the Spectres, which would result in the right thing getting done, but it would not bring him any profits, and possibly raise the eyebrows of some of his agents for being... too suspiciously noble. Still... two hundred slaves, maybe even some drell amongst them... he put the intel aside for the moment, resolving to monitor the developments more closely, assigning additional agents to investigate the businessman further, perhaps finding some chinks in his armor with which to blackmail the man and perhaps force him to abandon this venture.

Suddenly, Feron was alerted by the loud blaring of the alert on long range sensors, the surprise nearly throwing him out of his seat. _What's going on now?_ he thought irritably, reaching across to take a good look at the scanner display. True enough, there was movement, a ship had just made a jump through the rarely used Sentry Omega relay. _Pirates, probably,_ he decided, knowing the reputation of Virmire only too well.

However, as Feron continued to watch the additional data pulled by the scanner, he let out a quiet curse as the results flowed in. It was the same frigate that he had spotted two weeks ago, acting all suspicious in Kepler Verge, near Ontarom. Even if Feron felt perfectly safe, sitting behind an asteroid belt, using similar cloaking technology to the Alliance Kodiak shuttles, he could not help but to shudder a little. _Are they tracking me? But how... I need to be more careful, damn it. Time to change the system... again. _

Then, as unexpectedly as the alarm had began to sound, it suddenly stopped, the red glare on the scanner display winking out and disappearing. "Shit... that's not good..." Feron muttered, watching the display closely. As suddenly as the mysterious frigate had appeared in the range of the scanners, it had now completely dropped off the grid... and he did not like it one bit.

* * *

_Parnack, the yahg homeworld_

"Damn it, this trip was the worst waste of time ever," Aria kept fuming on their way back to the base camp. "I didn't even get to kill anything! I demand that we stay here for a few more days!"

"Sorry, Aria, but we can't do that," Garrus shook his head. "It's just a matter of time before the yahg find out that their homeworld has been invaded. As soon as the others finish claiming our trophies from the wugu, we'll be off."

"I think Garrus makes a good point, Aria, I mean we already saw that abandoned camp nearby," Morgan spoke up. "The yahg could be nearby, watching us."

"Wait... abandoned camp, what abandoned camp?" Garrus stopped, freezing in his tracks.

"You mean the drug lord and the porn emperor didn't tell you about it?" Morgan blinked.

"Who... oh, the pair that were with you? No... I thought it was them who fled back to the base camp and alerted the security drones," Garrus said, looking a touch concerned now. "We need to play this carefully, just in case."

"Alarms went off at the base camp?" Morgan exclaimed, now equally worried. "Why does nobody tell me these things? Should we wait for the backup?" she wondered, thinking back to the others, the two turian mercs together with the young asari commando and two mostly useless humans still hacking the wugu-beast to pieces for wall mounting purposes.

"Waiting preferable, multiple yahg... potentially problematic," Ish said nervously, the salarian intel broker having caught up to them, deciding that their company would provide more safety and now looking as if he regretted his decision.

"What I need right now is a real challenge, and I'm not standing around, waiting until the others take it away from me again," Aria growled irritably, striding into the jungle with determined steps and starting to hack her way towards the base camp.

"Damn it, Aria, stop being such a glory hound!" Shepard hissed, then growling with annoyance, left with no other option but to march after the Queen of Omega.

"Prefer to remain here," Ish suggested fearfully. "Cover strategic exits."

"If they are around, they could be anywhere. The yahg are masters of stealth," Garrus said, watching the salarian gulp nervously. "Especially in their natural habitat of Parnack. The only safety to find is in numbers." This information seemed to make Ish reconsider his options and he moved to follow them as they set out to catch up with Aria, tearing her way through the thick growth like a wild tornado.

"Wait... Aria, that's enough, will you stop already?" Morgan gasped, having eventually caught up with Aria, yanking down hard on the asari's shoulder.

Aria slowed her movements, allowing Garrus and Ish to reach them as well. The asari pointed at a path, carved through the jungle just ahead of them. "I think that's the path we made when we came here to set up those security drones," Aria said, keeping her voice low.

"Looks like it," Garrus nodded, taking a few steps down the cleared passage, until he spotted something lying in the undergrowth, the metallic frame of a destroyed security drone. "Well, that makes it clear, the camp has been invaded by yahg... we need to play this smart. Shepard, we won't be able to get off more than a single shot with our sniper rifles, so we need to make them count. They'll charge us, and then we switch to our Phaestons-"

"Just a moment, Vakarian. My biotics can buy you enough time to get another shot off," Aria interrupted Garrus with her suggestion. "Though I do suggest that we first learn with how many of those bastards we are dealing with."

"Leave it with me," Morgan chuckled, quickly activating her cloaking and quietly starting to move towards the camp, trying to remain as quiet as she could, knowing that as cunning predators, the yahg likely possessed very well developed olfactory and auditory senses. She skirted the edge of the camp, not daring to leave the cover of the jungle, trying to see as much as she could through the think canopy. As she looked, Morgan could spot as many as four of the disgusting krogan-sized creatures moving around in the camp. Two of the yahg were currently busy over something strewn on the ground, snarling and growling as they worked, Morgan nearly throwing up as she edged closer to observe the yahg, recognizing the skinless corpses of the two humans, now in the process of getting hacked up into small pieces.

Struggling not to vomit, she silently crawled back to relay the situation to the others, succeeding in disturbing the already rather useless salarian even further. "Reinforcements necessary, refuse to throw life away," he muttered, shrinking under the wilting glare Aria sent his way.

"We can do this," the asari said confidently, Garrus nodding as well. "Come on, let's get it over with." Aria led them further towards the camp, Morgan and Garrus quickly deciding on the order of their targets as Aria readied her biotics and Ish prepared to frantically flee in the opposite direction as soon as their plan had failed.

On Garrus' command, two clear shots rang through the camp, twin bullets impacting at the base of the skull of one of the yahg, standing with its back to them. With very little left of the creature's head, the large and bulky frame toppled to the ground. The other three reacted immediately, charging at them... and running straight into Aria's biotic trap, throwing them back, dazed. As the yahg tried to get up, the pair of sniper rifles released another bullet, both striking the leftmost yahg in the head again, killing the creature instantly. Morgan and Garrus then threw their weapons on the ground and quickly switched to their Phaestons as the remaining yahg charged them again.

"With me!" Aria yelled, launching a biotic throw at one of the yahg, knocking it back, the asari then charging forward into the camp, Morgan and Garrus quick in pursuit, realizing that the Pirate Queen was right and they needed to fight in the relatively open camp, instead in the thick jungle where the yahg would have all the advantage.

Garrus and Morgan immediately opened fire on one of the yahg, but even modified as they were, the Phaestons did not seem to be doing a lot of damage against the yahg's natural armor. The enemy was upon them quickly, launching a heavy backhanded slap against the turian's midsection, sending Garrus flying. The yahg now turned towards Morgan, raising its clawed hand above her like a huge mace. She released the Phaeston and activated her omni-blade, raising it just as the yahg lashed at her, the omni-blade impaling through the creature's hand, the yahg squealing aloud with pain.

Nearby, Aria was engaged in a deadly dance with her own yahg partner. Even if the dangerous predator was extremely agile and fast, it could not compete with Aria's honed reflexes, the asari dodging and rolling out of the incoming blows, taking a great delight in what she likely considered the best entertainment possible. "Damn it, Aria, stop toying with that thing! Kill it and help me!" Morgan shouted, being chased around the camp by her badly injured opponent. Even with one of its arms useless, it was now enraged and far more dangerous than before and Shepard knew that engaging in hand to hand combat with the monstrous creature would be almost suicidal.

"Why do you have to be so dull, Shepard," Aria sighed theatrically, hitting her opponent with a biotic lash, pulling the yahg towards her at the same time as she raised her shotgun, sticking the barrel down the yahg's throat and pressing the trigger, watching a shower of brain matter explode through the new hole at the back of the yahg's head.

"Alright, you like to kill them so much, here, have another one!" Morgan shouted, activating her cloaking and then disappearing from the view of the yahg pursuing her. The creature blinked, swatted a few times at thin air, then let out an annoyed screech and charged the only other target on the battleground, Aria T'Loak.

With the charming grace of Afterlife's pole-dancer, Aria twirled out of the path of the yahg's charge. Her biotics looked to be charged to the maximum as the yahg took a run at her again, but now she simply sidestepped the attack while delivering a charged biotic punch right to the face of her enemy, stunning the yahg. Aria kept throwing her punches one after another at the yahg, until its face became a beaten bloody pulp, the foe eventually sliding down on the ground, unmoving. "There... now I'm satisfied," Aria grunted, starting to wipe the blood off from her hands, as Morgan canceled her cloaking and reappeared back in the camp, Ish also crawling out of the thick shrubbery to join them.

"Well, I just hope that this time all that violence hasn't made you all hot and bothered," Morgan winked at her friend.

"No, I'm still pissed off at you for making me miss out on the wugu, so don't even try to butter me up for an angry kiss, Shepard," Aria retorted, trying to appear a little more angry than she actually was.

"Aria!" they suddenly heard Garrus shouting a warning. "Watch out!"

Morgan and Aria both immediately swirled around, seeing that the beaten yahg had managed to pull out a strangely shaped blade, about to launch it at Aria. With her biotic barriers down, Aria reached out and pulled the unfortunate Ish in front of her, using the salarian as a makeshift shield. The wicked knife struck the intel broker directly in the throat, nearly severing his head, causing nearly instant death. Aria allowed the limp body to topple on the ground as she grabbed her shotgun, stepped up to the yahg and made sure that it would not repeat its dangerous trick.

"Damn it, Aria... how could you do that to Ish!" Garrus shouted, slowly getting up from the ground.

"Oh, spare me the boring moral lecture, Vakarian," Aria hissed. "Ish was a complete and utter bastard, spying on me on Omega and trying to sell off my secrets. He was going to get killed in a few weeks anyway!"

"I didn't mean that at all..." Garrus said, giving the Pirate Queen a reproachful glare. "It's just that he still owed me half of his participation fee..."

Aria opened her mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly, exchanging slightly disbelieving glances with Shepard. Then she looked back at Garrus, blinking, before breaking out in fits of laughter. "You know, maybe this wasn't so bad after all..." she managed, still shaking with laughter. "So, Garrus... when's the next Great Hunt?"


	23. Shadow Dancing

_A/N: In this chapter, Miranda quotes (perhaps not word for word) one of my favorite lines from Farscape TV series. Just thought I'd mention that. :) _

**Chapter 23 – Shadow Dancing**

_Year 2196 CE  
City of Aegohr, planet Nasurn_

"Kasumi, I'm so sorry," Miranda said quietly, hugging her old friend. "Please accept my condolences."

"Thanks, Miri... thank you all for coming," Kasumi sighed, releasing Miranda, now getting hugged by Shepard, Liara wrapping her arms around them both in a tender group hug.

"It was the least we could do, Kasumi," Morgan smiled sadly, looking at the tear-stained face of their friend. It did not look as if Kasumi had aged much since their last meeting, but she had that sort of eternally jovial, ageless expression in her eyes that Shepard could detect even through her grief about the loss of her salarian mate.

The funeral itself had been a very business-like affair, according to Kasumi, Shepard and the others not admitted to the private gathering. Kasumi had not expected to get the invitation herself, as since her relationship with Jondum had been unofficial, she was not entitled to any inheritance or anything of the like. The invitation had been out of purely practical reasons. Bau had never been considered by his clan for a breeding contract, he was serving his family through his work as a Spectre, raising their public image and social status through his exemplary service record. Kasumi's work alongside her lover had helped Bau solve many cases, and he had made his family aware of this. The dalatrass of the family had recognized her importance to Jondum's successes, and decided to invite Kasumi to the funeral, not because she honored the emotional bond the couple had shared, but simply because Kasumi had inadvertently worked towards the interests of the family.

The dalatrass herself had stopped to exchange a few polite words with Kasumi at the end of the service, informing the human Spectre that she would be granted with permanent permission to enter the family crypt in Aegohr City where Jondum's remains had been interred. She had also thanked Kasumi for the help she had provided to Spectre Bau, and when Kasumi told her friends about this encounter later, she had remarked that the completely unemotional, businesslike tone of the old dalatrass had actually helped her center her own emotions, thankfully rendering her unable to shed any tears in the presence of dozens of grey stone-faced salarians.

However, now, surrounded by her old friends who understood ever so well the grief she was going through, sympathizing with her loss, Kasumi was struggling to hold her emotions in check, now and then breaking out in tears, looking relieved when Miranda pulled them into a quiet downtown restaurant.

Overall, Aegohr City looked like a typical salarian metropolis, needle-like skyscrapers competing with each other as they rose towards the purple sky. Nasurn was a very dry world compared to Sur'Kesh, and while salarians were not known for being sentimental, they had still built countless artificial lakes, channels, fountains throughout Aegohr City to remind them of their homeworld, and at least to Morgan, it made the prison of metal and glass a little easier on the eye.

Aegohr City was also far more cosmopolitan than the salarian homeworld of Sur'Kesh, all major businesses and industries had their offices here, and most of the finances of the Union lately seemed to flow through Nasurn, the salarians clearly preferring to leave Sur'Kesh for their own internal backyard politics. Just by simply walking the streets of Aegohr City for fifteen short minutes, they had already seen representatives of almost every species known in Council space, even a single krogan and batarian. This also meant that the downtown restaurants had a wide range of selections available, Morgan immediately using the opportunity to order something that was difficult to procure on Thessia, the asari shying away from particularly spicy foods, making Shepard constantly starved for her old favorites such as chicken vindaloo, licking her lips in anticipation as she noticed the dish on the menu.

While the others were busy pondering their orders from the wide selection, Kasumi settled for a pot of local salarian tea made from a root of a rare water plant, that when consumed in large quantities induced hallucinations in humans. Shrugging off the concerned looks of the others after she had shared these facts, Kasumi actually did look far less depressed after drinking a single tiny cup, and much to Shepard's relief, the former master thief did not make any mention of seeing white horses prancing around the restaurant, or other similarly worrying hallucinations.

"Oh, by the way, Miri," Kasumi picked up the thread of conversation, as their orders began to arrive through a cleverly disguised dispensation lane that stretched through the entire restaurant. "My contact on Ilium failed to track any new leads. Looks like Hock has well and truly disappeared."

"Hock? There's a name I didn't expect to hear," Morgan remarked, snatching her plate off the dispenser and then admiring the vindaloo with a loving stare. Liara simply leaned closer, took one sniff of the aroma, immediately pulled back with her nose all scrunched, sneezed and shuffled a couple of feet further away from Morgan.

"Son of the old bastard you nailed on Bekenstein," Miranda explained. "He was running a small information broker agency on Ilium."

"He certainly was not there during my stay on Ilium," Liara remarked.

"Well, no, he would have been too young to be an intel broker," Miranda said. "Anyway, I asked Kasumi to check up on him, but she could only find out that he had sold the business to his former partner and then disappeared without a trace six months ago."

"I wasn't able to dig up anything new, not even a single clue of where he had disappeared to, so when Bau got worse and I had to return back to Aegohr, I asked another Spectre to do some digging," Kasumi explained, looking a lot more lively now that she was focusing on the work again. "I mean, people don't just disappear in thin air, right?"

"On Ilium... they sometimes do," Liara replied quietly, wincing at some old memory.

"Why are you even interested in the guy?" Morgan asked. "Is he up to no good or something?"

"Well, no... I mean, I'm not sure," Miranda shrugged. "His sister is something of a rising star in the Alliance Parliament on New Arc."

"Hey, wait, the new financial advisor really is Hock's daughter?" Morgan blinked. "I've been wondering about that. I was going to ask you, but then decided that it couldn't be true... damn, that's... interesting."

"That's why Miri decided to investigate," Kasumi nodded. "So far we've found nothing, however."

"Well, it's quite possible that you're just overreacting because of the whole history with her father," Morgan shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing. I mean, people change."

"People never change," Miranda shook her head. "Weather changes. And we just keep making the same old mistakes."

"Heh... ever the pessimist, Miri," Morgan chuckled.

"Hey, somebody has to maintain the damn perspective over here," the raven-haired Spectre smiled back at her.

"Yeah, whatever... by the way, I think I'm in love with this vindaloo..." Morgan suddenly veered the conversation off the beaten path, licking her lips in delight. "They must have some human cook locked up back there, no frog could make a dish like this!"

"Hey, salarians are great cooks, their cuisine is quite exquisite!" Kasumi protested, forcing Shepard to raise her hands apologetically while she was busy chewing on her food. "Anyways, it was a fun mission to take out the old Hock, though, wasn't it?" she then sighed dreamily, giving Morgan a conspiring wink.

"As I remember we both were nearly killed by Hock's gunship, and we sustained some rather unpleasant injuries, so you're forgive me if my memories of that particular mission are not overly fond," Morgan muttered, stubbornly returning to her heavenly vindaloo.

"Shep, when did you turn into such a sourpuss," Kasumi grinned. "You got to wear a swanky dress! It was beautiful... and those legs, yum-yum... Liara probably still has the holo-pictures I sent her..."

"Mhm..." Liara nodded, an absentminded look on her face. "I do have them, yes. Those were... very good, indeed."

"Well, they better be good, I spent almost two years rebuilding those legs, along with everything else attached to them" Miranda added.

"And you did such a fine job at that, Miri," Morgan grinned at the Australian Spectre. "Liara and I are both very thankful for your hard work on my body. And also relieved that you didn't add something like an extra boob for me, or something equally gross."

"In that case, I would have been better off bonding with a hanar," Liara said, having contemplated upon the mental image for a while, then wincing from the supplied visual.

"Well, hanar are kinda like all boob anyway," Kasumi laughed, looking in far better spirits already.

"Say, Miri, you know how Grunt considers me to be his mom, because I gave him life by opening that pod, right?" Morgan faced Miranda with a wicked grin, the raven-haired woman nodding slowly at Shepard's words. "Well, by similar logic... you gave me life when you rebuilt me during Project Lazarus... so... that kinda makes you my second mother!"

"Gah, Shepard..." Miranda glared at her accusingly. "Please, you are ruining my appetite!"

"And it would also make you Grunt's granny," Morgan chuckled. "Oh boy... this is too funny..."

"Now I'm wondering... Shep, if you had never met Liara, and instead fallen in love with Miri, would that count as an Oedipus complex?" Kasumi mused aloud, looking highly amused.

"Must you both be so insufferably crass!" Miranda hissed. "Get your minds out of the gutter, you two!"

"Morgan... behave," Liara quietly told her bondmate. "Another topic, perhaps?"

"Aww... just poking a little fun," Morgan pouted. "But alright, I'm stopping." She turned to look at Kasumi across the table. "So... you're going to stay on Nasurn for a while longer?"

"Yeah, I... still need to sort out the belongings," Kasumi said, making a face. "Bah... not really looking forward to that. Then moving all my stuff back to the Citadel, going to stay there for the foreseeable future, hoping that the Council find some scraps of work to throw at me. I'll become restless in a few days, I just know myself."

"Well, if Hackett doesn't have anything for you, I'll poke the other councilors, maybe they can find something to do," Morgan mused thoughtfully.

"I was counting more on Oluara, Shep," Kasumi replied. "Sure, she's really annoying, but I like her anyway. She actually reads reports, unlike Valern... and then spends almost an hour needling me about what at first seemed like insignificant details. She's made me feel very embarrassed a few times, but I can say one thing, she has made me improve so much more than anyone else. Even your inspiring example, Shep!"

"I'm still waiting to have a meaningful conversation with her other than quick, curt greetings," Shepard sighed. "Anyway... it will be good to have you around, back on the Citadel."

"And you know that you can always call upon us when you feel down, Kasumi," Liara added, gentle smile on her lips.

"Aww... thanks guys," Kasumi smiled serenely, taking another sip of the tea. "You really are the best friends I could wish for..."

* * *

_New Arc, Arcturus Stream_

"What do you have for me today, Jonathan... or should I say, Shadow Broker?" Katherine Hock spoke on the secure comm line in her new, spacious office on New Arc, one floor below the Prime Minister's office itself.

"I've diverted two more agents where you requested them," her younger sibling replied. "One is now active on New Arc, the other on Earth. The results are pouring in thick and fast. Who knew even the esteemed Prime Minister Berezin had so many skeletons in his closet?"

"Everyone has something to hide... and thanks to the network, we will now know it all," Kat nodded, sounding pleased. "Keep forwarding me with daily updates, Jonathan. I'm not going to use all this intel immediately, but I need to stay on top of things."

"Will do. Hell, you could probably have the entire Parliament in your pocket at any time if you just used the information."

"Undoubtedly, but it would draw too much attention to us if I acted in such obvious manner," Katherine shook her head resolutely. "Remember, Jonathan, we're playing the long game here. We'll rise to the top step by step."

"I've learned to defer to your judgment on these matters, sis," Jonathan agreed, his dream of dethroning the Shadow Broker having come to pass, he was filled with gratitude and unyielding loyalty to his sister who had made it all possible.

"Any progress in the other matter that I asked you to dig up on?" Kat asked, a little impatiently.

"Uh... sorry, not yet. The archived files are all heavily encrypted, and it is taking a lot of time to crack them... I'm going as fast as I can, sister..." Jonathan offered apologetically.

"Not fast enough, it appears," Katherine's beautiful, petite face twisted in anger. "Jonathan, have you forgotten why we are doing this? Not simply for the power and influence, but also to repay those who murdered our father. I need to know who was with Shepard that day, and I need to know it fast!"

"I assure you, I am doing everything I can, and no, Kat, I have not forgotten about father," Jonathan replied defensively. "And we know that Shepard at least was there, why don't we move against her already?"

"No... not yet, if we act, her accomplice might go underground," Katherine shook her head. "Though I suppose we could target her, but indirectly... cause pain to something dear to her, something she cares about..."

"Well... she is an asari lover, living on Thessia, right? I could leak some discrediting materials that would show the asari in a bad light... that might give the famous Spectre Shepard some headache..." Jonathan suggested.

"What do you have in mind?" Katherine asked.

"Hmm, let's see what are the hot topics of the day... okay, there are some very embarrassing information about the Salarian Union bribing high level asari officials to gain their approval for the salarian colonization plans in the new system recently discovered by the geth."

"That sounds very good, go ahead and throw that to the press, the asari councilor will probably be calling her precious Spectre as soon as she finds out about the scandal," Katherine laughed, looking satisfied. "I never liked the asari, even before Shepard threw her lot in with them... smug, arrogant bitches with superiority complex... let me know when you have something else on them."

"Oh... I have enough to write a very thick book," Jonathan chuckled. "But I thought you didn't want to use it all at once?"

"Right you are, little brother," Katherine Hock smiled cruelly. "We're going to make this a slow torture, gradually driving Shepard and her asari friends towards insanity..."

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

"I don't like this," Shepard muttered, leading Liara into the Armali City Council building, shaking her head as they quickly proceeded upstairs, escorted by a group of commandos who had been already alerted by Aethyta about their imminent arrival. "She wouldn't call on the QEC unless there was some kind of emergency."

"I agree," Liara nodded, walking swiftly next to her. These days Tevos hardly ever used the QEC to contact them, leaving messages on their omni-tools instead, but the fact that she had request the most secure means of communication implied that something unexpected had happened.

The commandos brought them into the small chamber housing the QEC, and then promptly left as instructed, standing guard outside the doors, allowing Shepard and Liara to conduct their audience with the asari councilor in private. As Liara activated the QEC connection on their end, they found Tevos already impatiently waiting for them on the other end, looking greatly worried.

"Shepard, Liara, thank you for coming on such short notice," the councilor uttered quickly.

"Of course, Councilor, we are as ever at your service," Liara bowed respectfully, Shepard smiling as she nodded. "…and also concerned about the reasons behind this audience. You would not have used the QEC-"

"Unless there were grave security concerns, yes," Tevos nodded impatiently. "And I fear there might be. I hope you will be able to provide some satisfactory answers."

"Should I get ready to leave for the Citadel?" Morgan asked.

"I think that in this case, perhaps it is your bondmate who could be of more help to me," Tevos said, surprising them both.

"I… will do what I can to help, Tevos, but… what is it that you would ask of me?" Liara wondered.

"We have not spoke of this openly, Liara, but… from what little you have mentioned in the past, I have gathered that you have a certain… pull with the Shadow Broker?" Tevos inquired, Morgan turning her head to watch Liara blush slightly.

"…perhaps, you could say that," Liara eventually admitted, a little reluctantly. "Are you seeking a favor from the Shadow Broker, Councilor?"

"Hardly," Tevos briefly looked upset. "Liara, in the past week, there have been three occasions on which highly embarrassing secrets of our government have been leaked to the general public on the Citadel. It has sabotaged our and salarian colonial plans of the new systems, seriously worsened our relations with the krogan, as well as scared away several wealthy human investors from a lucrative asari-human co-funded deep space exploration project. It has been a disastrous week, the exposed failings of our officials have made the asari a laughing stock of the galaxy, and I have been unsuccessfully trying to douse these flames!"

"Uh… that is… horrible to hear, Councilor… but what could I possibly do about it?" Liara looked stunned and completely taken by surprise.

"I have the reports from all the Spectres assigned to track down the origin of these leaked reports. In all cases, they lead to one and the same man whom for several years we have suspected to be an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"But… but that makes no sense, why would he… no, it can't be," Liara stammered. "…it has to be an agent gone rogue, there can't be any other explanation for it!"

"When was the last time we heard from our friend, Liara?" Shepard asked her bondmate quietly.

"Well... it has been some time, over a month, I think," Liara mused thoughtfully. "But... I can dispel these ridiculous accusations easily, he would never..." the young maiden mumbled, activating her omni-tool and quickly typing a message, her face growing pale after an attempt to send her notification. "Address invalid? Someone has changed the access codes? But... I don't understand..."

"Councilor Tevos, we have a problem," Morgan immediately realized the issue they were facing. _Liara might be struggling to accept the truth, considering how much she cared for Feron, but it seems obvious to me... this is not just some agent going rogue. There has been a change at the very top... and now someone else has access to all the secrets of the galaxy. And damn... poor Feron, I kinda liked the kid, but... maybe it would have been better if Liara had dismantled the network entirely._ "I will head to the Citadel at the first opportunity."

"Shepard, what is happening?" Tevos demanded.

"I will explain in person, Councilor... please," Morgan said quietly, not wanting to give voice to her version of what had transpired with Feron and the Shadow Broker network.

"There has to be some other explanation... it can't be what you're implying!" Liara's voice rose to near-shout. "He would never be so careless to..." then she stopped, remembering that Tevos was still there, and even if the councilor was also a friend, Liara's exact involvement with the network and her Shadow Broker past was not something that she particularly wanted to advertise.

"Very well..." Tevos sighed, looking a little deflated as she wringed her hands nervously. "I am not reassured by your reaction, my friends, but I hope that you will be willing to share more upon your arrival on the Citadel."

"I will, Tevos," Morgan nodded. "Be vigilant, my friend. This is likely not the end of the defamation."

"Wonderful. Just what I wanted to hear," Tevos grumbled, disconnecting the QEC.

"I have other ways to get in touch with Feron," Liara said determinedly after the image of Tevos had disappeared from the screen. "But we need to get back to the estate for me to try them."

"Of course, no sense hanging around here," Shepard nodded, as they both left the QEC room, the commandos watching their hasty retreat with impassive stares, Liara all but running down the hall, Morgan having difficulties in keeping up with her.

Back outside, Liara appeared so upset that she almost forgot to check whether Morgan had managed to properly get inside the skycar when she was already about to take off from the landing platform. For Morgan, that made it clear that the asari was in no shape to actually fly safely and responsibly. "Oh, no you don't," she said gently, pulling an irate Liara out of the skycar pilot's seat, the asari complaining loudly, but Morgan steadfastly ignored her. "I'm not letting you cause an accident or worse." Eventually, Liara accepted her fate, sitting in the co-pilot's seat with a straight back, hands crossed on her chest, and looking so angry that Shepard for a moment wondered whether she had bonded with a half-dragon, instead of a quarter-krogan, expecting smoke to start pouring from the asari's nostrils.

As the familiar sight of the T'Soni Estate slowly appeared in the distance, Morgan became aware that she herself was feeling extremely nervous, holding the steering controls in an iron grip, shivering a little, beginning to recognize just what the implications would be if all the sensitive Shadow Broker intel fell into the wrong hands... and whoever now had this information, did not seem content to simply sit on it and use it to subtly manipulate the events behind the scenes, no, they were actively using the intel to influence developments directly... and the fact that so far the compromising materials had all strived to disgrace the asari in particular was not lost on Morgan either. _I have a bad feeling about this... a very bad feeling... _

The impending feeling of doom only increased as she set the skycar down in the courtyard of the T'Soni Estate, hanging on Morgan's shoulders like a sack of heavy stones. Still, she managed to grab Liara's hand when her bondmate was about to jump out of the skycar before she had even settled the vehicle down properly. "Liara, damn it, get a hold of yourself," she spoke, a little harsher than she had intended, but knowing that she needed to get her message through quickly. "Pull yourself together. Do you want to scare our daughter, acting hysterical as you are now?"

Liara at first looked angry, the arm that Morgan held glowing lightly with biotics, but then the asari took a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself. "I... I'm sorry, I just..."

"I know," Morgan hugged her briefly. "But whatever plans you have to get in touch with Feron will work much better if you maintain a reasonable, rational approach, as you always do, even under great duress. Can you do that?"

"I... yes, I can," Liara took another few deep breaths, summoning her best calm and stoic expression, Morgan finally feeling satisfied and releasing her hand as they both got out of the skycar and started to walk back towards the estate.

The first thing that Shepard noticed upon entering the wide hallway was the sight of their daughter dancing around a medium-sized crate, standing in the middle of the hall. "Daddy, daddy!" Lita cried, upon seeing them enter the estate. "Daddy, can we finally open it, pretty please?"

"Open what?" Shepard asked, approaching Lita and the strange box, feeling a little alarmed.

"A courier delivered it half an hour ago," Aethyta explained, emerging from the kitchens nearby. "Haven't been able to peel the kid away from it ever since, so you better open it quickly." She lowered her voice before adding. "It has both your names on the crate... let me guess, another new sex toy? Let me know whether it was any good after you've tried it, okay?"

"...who delivered it, Aethyta?" Shepard asked sharply, her tone startling the matriarch a little.

"Some young asari, I think... barely even looked at her face, just signed for you two and she was off again," Aethyta shrugged. "Why?"

"Aethyta, grab Lita and take her upstairs," Shepard commanded. "Now!" she added harshly when Aethyta didn't move at first.

"You better have a good explanation for this, Shepard," Aethyta hissed as she took the struggling asari babe in her arms and brought her upstairs, ignoring Lita's indignant cries about being denied the fun of opening the mystery crate.

"What is going on, Morgan?" Liara asked worriedly, puzzled by her bondmate's reaction. "Did you really order something embarrassing on the extranet?"

"I did not order anything, and that is what worries me," Morgan said, activating her omni-tool and dropping down on her knees, beginning to scan the contents of the crate. "Well, I don't think there are any explosives in there... but there's something that looks like a datapad."

"Is it safe to open?" Liara asked, wringing her hands nervously.

"I think so, yeah," Morgan nodded, starting to work on loosening the lid of the crate and then gingerly using the tip of her omni-blade to begin opening it. When nothing horrible happened, she retracted the blade and now used her hand to raise the lid and peer inside... immediately lowering it again, turning away with a look of disgust on her face. "... my god..." she managed, roughly pushing Liara away when the asari tried to approach the crate. "Don't look in there... don't do it, Li..."

"What was there, Morgan? I demand that you tell me or allow me to see for myself!" Liara was obviously not happy about getting shoved away.

"Just a moment, babe... just a sec..." Morgan breathed heavily, trying to swallow down the bile in her throat, feeling queasy from what she had just seen. "I'll... try to get that datapad at least... let me see..." shuddering and without staring inside, she reached into the crate and eventually fished out the datapad, throwing it over to Liara who grabbed it with trembling hands, immediately starting to read the message.

"No more Shadow Broker freebies?" Liara read, giving her a searching stare. "What... what does that mean? And what else was there in that crate?"

"Liara..." Morgan stood up from the crate and approached Liara with soft steps, putting her hands on her bondmate's shoulders. "Please... I beg you, please believe me when I say that you do not want to see what is inside that box."

"I do believe you, but... you could... at least give me a vague hint..." Liara managed, allowing Morgan to gently embrace her, the agitated and nervous couple finding some comfort in the physical contact.

"Inside the box... is the truth that you did not want to admit to yourself, Liara," Shepard said softly, starting to slowly rock Liara's trembling form back and forth. "Liara... I'm afraid that there no longer can be any doubts. Feron... is dead."


	24. Bad Day To Be Blue

**Chapter 24 – Bad Day To Be Blue**

_Year 2196 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

Liara sighed, moving to switch off the music, when it had proved to be as unhelpful in calming her down as anything else she had tried so far. She loved Falere's solo violin pieces, especially this particular one based on 'Four Seasons' by an ancient human composer Vivaldi. But how could she even hope for music to bring relief, when the touching concern and gentle support of her bondmate and her baby daughter had failed?

A week had passed since they had made the horrifying discovery of Feron's demise, and the guilt she felt over it had not diminished much. She hadn't been able to stop herself from prodding Morgan about the exact contents of the crate, trying to poke into her bondmate's memories during their melds, and eventually Morgan had given up, reluctantly sharing the truth, looking depressed as she knew what it would do to Liara. _His head... they sent us his head in a box... goddess, what sort of monster would do that to anyone?_

She had been utterly disturbed, shocked at first, angry and vengeful as the truth began to sink in, already beginning to plot her retaliation upon those who had killed her friend. Morgan and Aethyta had taken that awful crate away while she was deep in the process of hatching her plans of revenge, never daring to inquire just what her bondmate and her father had done with Feron's remains, feeling sick whenever her thoughts wandered in that direction, trusting her loved ones to have been respectful.

Fortunately, her thoughts did not remain focused on revenge for too long, as soon as Morgan had made her aware that she was neglecting their daughter she quickly pushed her plans for retaliation away, realizing the danger of spiraling into the well of darkness that had come close to swallowing her on Ilium. She still firmly resolved to pursue Feron's murderers, but not at the cost of denying something to her family, to the love of her life and their child.

_I need to see that monster brought to justice, in hopes that it might lighten the burden of guilt that I feel,_ Liara thought, feeling her chest tightening painfully. _Oh, Feron... I should have never given you the control of the network. I should have simply dismantled it, as was my first thought... it was too powerful weapon to put into anyone's hands... _

The guilt burned particularly strong when she remembered Feron's initial reluctance to accept the role. _I talked him into it, persuaded him... he didn't even particularly want to become the new Shadow Broker, even if he appeared to enjoy the job later... it seemed as if he simply could not refuse me. Was he perhaps a little infatuated with me, and I completely failed to notice it, my eyes able to only see Shepard? And... I used his feelings for me against him to get what I wanted... and in the end, it killed him... oh, goddess... _

"Mistress Liara?" she snapped out of her dark thoughts at the sound of Shiala's voice coming from the doors. "I apologize for the intrusion, but Mistress Shepard has asked you to join her in the afternoon lounge."

"Did she say why?" Liara asked, getting out of the bed, standing with her back turned on Shiala as she quickly wiped her face clean, making sure she looked at least somewhat presentable.

"She was watching some news feed that appeared to make her very agitated," Shiala replied, looking a little worried herself, probably thinking that Liara did not need any more bad news right now. Her concern might have been justified, but by now, Liara's curiosity was already piqued. "She insisted that you needed to see it as well," the commando added reluctantly.

"Very well, thank you Shiala," Liara managed to summon an expression that was supposed to be a smile, but in the end it looked rather grotesque and almost frightening, making Shiala frown as the young maiden walked by her and hurried to catch up with her bondmate in one of the several living rooms spread throughout the estate.

Liara felt alerted from the very moment of entering the living room and seeing Shepard's posture. Her bondmate was not lazily lounging in one of the sofas as she did while watching some action vid, no, Morgan was standing in front of the large vid screen, hands wrapped behind her back, everything about the human screaming tension. "Morgan?" Liara asked softly. "What is the matter?"

"Ah... gods, you startled me," Morgan exclaimed with a sharp jerk, turning around to face her bondmate, looking a little frantic. "Kinda stupid, considering I sent Shiala to fetch you..." she added with strangely inappropriate little laugh. "Damn it, Liara, the shit has really hit the fan this time... come on, sit down and I'll play you the entire news report from start to finish."

"I... alright, but you are... scaring me, Morgan," Liara could not stop herself from trembling slightly, even as Shepard took her by the hand and guided her to the sofa, sitting down next to her as she tapped on her omni-tool to play the news report from the very beginning.

As soon as Liara began to watch, she understood that this had to be serious. This was not some kind of sensationalist story by Westerlund News or other unreliable and often scandalous network, Antivia O'Neal was a highly renowned asari journalist with the GBC News, working with Galactic Broadcasting Corporation for fifteen years, gaining particular fame after a much publicized wedding with the former human news anchor of the GBC News five years ago.

In her melodic but serious tones, Antivia spoke of the previous scandals that had rocked the Asari Republics over the course of the past several weeks, putting intense political pressure on the remaining matriarchs and especially on Councilor Tevos on the Citadel. "This new and developing scandal raises serious questions whether those in the positions of power will be able to retain the support of the e-democracy," the news reporter spoke, making Liara's stomach clench painfully as she was still wondering what new disaster had struck her people now.

She did not have to wonder much longer, as soon as the footage from the Temple of Athame was displayed on the screens, along with Antivia beginning to explain about the Prothean beacon having been harbored and used in secret by her people. "But... the humans already brought this up once already, trying to stir trouble!" Liara exclaimed, remembering the plots of the Alliance Admiral Singh back on Earth, trying to exploit this knowledge as means to gain himself a seat on the Council. "It was... largely ignored back then! Who could even think to use it again and why?"

"It didn't fly back then because everyone was too focused on the food supply shortage and rebuilding," Morgan explained quickly. "Besides... it was reported by the Alliance News Network, and as such, many aliens treated it as xenophobic propaganda piece. And Hackett's supporters treated it like Singh trying to spin more lies. Having GBC report this... well, that's completely different."

"Especially now, when the entire galaxy is starting to harbor ill feelings toward my people, thanks to the Shadow Broker," Liara sighed, feeling her heart pounding with worry. The report was largely accurate and very in-depth, providing also a list of names of all the matriarchs who had been involved in covering up the truth about the asari possessing a Prothean artifact, crime that merited the harshest penalties throughout Council space. Most of the matriarchs, save for three of them, had perished during the war, and Liara's spirits sank even further when she saw the name of her own mother listed there amongst all the culprits.

"This part is a fabrication, though," Shepard ground out angrily, listening as Antivia spoke about the Catalyst intel having been stored in the beacon guarded by the asari, starting to make unexpected sweeping assumptions about the asari leaders knowing of what exactly the beacon contained and still refusing to share it with the rest of the galaxy, making an effort to implicate Tevos in particular. "It's as if they're trying to remove her from the office with all this... but why? Damn, I'm sure it is a lie, if Tevos had known what the beacon held, she wouldn't have had to go to Thessia to learn it from the matriarchs! This does not make any sense!"

"Yes, these are blatant lies, I cannot believe someone as respectable as GBC would report this!" Liara fumed angrily. "I believed Tevos when she said she didn't know the specifics... and I still believe her!"

"Yeah, me too," Shepard nodded. "Well, respected as this reporter is, she still might have been bought off. Or blackmailed. Someone with the Shadow Broker resources could have some dirt on her as well... or simply have agents within GBC. Damn, it's an insidious web."

"Yes, it is..." Liara muttered angrily, the guilt once again flaring up inside her. _Why didn't I dismantle that damned network when I had the chance? I did not want to relinquish control, at least some of it, through Feron, thinking I could do some good for the galaxy... but I was wrong. I played around with a ticking time-bomb, and now we're all getting burnt because of another one of my mistakes..._

"Here comes the good part, by the way," Morgan sighed, turning her attention back to the screen.

"Of course, as our viewers are aware of, the Catalyst intel was recovered by the famous former Alliance Commander Shepard aboard the SSV Normandy," Antivia O'Neal spoke. "However, for reasons known only to Shepard herself, she never revealed exactly how she came to find this intel. At the time, Shepard was accompanied by Dr. Liara T'Soni, her lover and mother of their child, who also has not spoken on this matter in public, now raising questions about the part they have played in this cover-up. We believe that this might have been done to protect the memory of Dr. T'Soni's disgraced mother, Matriarch Benezia, but this is merely a speculation... we shall be attempting to speak with Spectre Shepard and Dr. T'Soni at the earliest convenience to hear their thoughts and comments, which will undoubtedly prove illuminating to our viewers."

"Illuminating, my ass," Shepard snarled angrily. "But we might have to deal with some reporters, Li. How do you want to handle it?"

"No comments to the press," Liara could not stop herself from snarling angrily. "I'll ask Shiala to bring in extra security and put them all on high alert. Any reporter trying to sneak into the estate grounds will be violently removed."

"That's my adorable angry Liara," Morgan chuckled, a little inappropriately in Liara's opinion, but she could not stop herself from sighing in content as her bondmate leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

"In recent developments," Antivia continued to speak on the vid screen. "We are receiving reports about major anti-asari rallies being held on the Citadel. Currently we have no information about any outbreaks of violence or casualties, but one thing is clear... this is not a good time to be an asari on the Citadel."

"Geez... I can't believe it's coming to this," Shepard exclaimed angrily. "When we catch up to this new Shadow Broker, whoever he or she is, I'm not going to be gentle..."

Liara only let out a worried sigh. "I just hope that Tevos is safe on the Citadel..."

* * *

_Bachjret Ward, The Citadel _

Councilor Tevos smiled, looking down kindly at the small group of asari, human and turian children surrounding her, the tiny human girl tugging excitedly on her robe, trying to attract her attention over the enraptured voices of the other children. Nearby, the press were already packing up to take their leave, having shot enough material for the evening news, but Tevos had remained behind to spend more time with the children. She desperately wanted to have a child of her own with Aria, but she had to agree with her bondmate that times were still far too volatile and uncertain, both of them deciding to wait. But spending time with these children, as well as looking at little Lita, it all reminded Tevos of how much she ached to experience the joys of motherhood herself.

This grand opening of a new state-of-art children's hospital on Bachjret Ward, heavily funded by the asari government, was a very obvious and badly needed public relations move that she usually loathed to resort to, but with the asari taking such heavy beating from the incriminating Shadow Broker leaks, they had been backed into a corner, desperately needing at least something to go right. But for her it was much more than just a PR move, she was actually doing something good for the people of the Citadel, her affection for these children was genuine, as was her desperate need to continue her work and to do something positive, a need that had never diminished throughout this first decade following the Reaper War, borne from the guilt about her own actions, or rather lack of any meaningful actions prior to the Great War.

_Will I ever be able to make up for what I've done?_ she thought, sitting down and letting the small human girl climb into her lap with a delighted squeal. _Is one lifetime enough to atone? These children... some of them are orphans. Perhaps if I had done more, their parents would never have died..._

"Councilor Tevos?" a familiar voice suddenly spoke to her and she stopped bouncing the excited girl on her knee, turning to look at Siasani, the leader of her personal guard. "We should leave. There might be a... situation." The grim-faced commando looked concerned, her expression frightening Tevos a little.

"I... see, thank you, Siasani," she said, lowering the girl back on the ground and affectionately ruffling her hair. "I'm sorry, children, but I must take my leave," Tevos told the disappointed kids as she rose from her seat. "But I will soon come to visit again, and I shall bring plenty of toys for everyone." That got the small group of children cheering again, and Tevos used the moment to step aside, turning towards the exit of the hospital, finding Siasani's hand firmly grabbing hers, stopping the councilor in her tracks.

"Not that way, Councilor," the commando warned. "We're taking the back entrance."

"Why, what is the matter, Siasani?" Tevos inquired, now trying her best not to appear nervous. She tried to spot whether something was happening outside the hospital, noticing that the crowd there had grown rather large. Despite not craving the status of a celebrity, it simply came attached with her mantle of the councilor, and her public appearances always gathered crowds of spectators, a small congregation having greeted them when they arrived at the hospital. But now, the crowd had somewhat worryingly grown in size at least five times.

"Some of the humans and turians in the crowd are armed, Councilor," Siasani explained quietly, not wanting to alert the children. "Cheya spotted SMG's, pistols and knives. Please, let us proceed to the back entrance immediately. Follow me."

Trembling with fear, Tevos set to follow the commando leader, her partner bringing up the rear as they quickly walked down a set of corridors with shiny floors of a brand new establishment, emerging in a quiet back alley. "Zenoia is bringing in the shuttle," Cheya spoke as they quickly began to walk down the alley, Tevos breathing out a huge sigh of relief when she saw the familiar looking shuttle appearing and landing at the far end of the alley. "Let's hurry up!" the commando urged, taking the councilor by the hand and pulling her along, the long robe not allowing Tevos to move very quickly.

"Shit!" Siasani suddenly exclaimed, Tevos' heart almost stopping as she saw a crowd of people beginning to pour into the alley, cutting them off from the shuttle. The two commando's immediately activated their biotic barriers, shielding themselves and Tevos. Fortunately, the enraged crowd did not engage in hostilities immediately, the weapons remaining holstered for now. Four other commandos were approaching from the side of the shuttle, unable to bring the transport any closer because the alley was simply too narrow.

Still, Tevos knew that very shortly things would turn violent. The angry crowd had formed a barrier, not allowing them to pass through towards the shuttle, and they needed to break through in order to get to safety. She dared not to even think of how many people were in the crowd, three or four dozen, and Tevos knew that as skilled as her commandos were, this mob was simply too large for them to take on. _What do they want? Do they simply hate the asari so much already, because of what the Shadow Broker has disclosed?_ she thought frantically.

"You will let us pass," Siasani demanded, fearlessly beginning to approach the angry crowd, the mob showing no reaction to her statement, although Tevos could have sworn she saw the shine of blades from the drawn knives. "Zen, now, do it!" the commando leader shouted, as Cheya leaned closer to tell Tevos to be ready to run as fast as she could. The two simultaneously launched singularities landed in the middle of the crowd, for a moment creating a gap and immediately, Cheya began to pull Tevos with her, Siasani now turning to provide a cover for them.

However, the biotic attack predictably provoked a reaction from the crowd. Several arms holding knives swung out at the commando leader, Siasani also getting pelted by rocks and pieces of metal, the asari holding firm, her focus only on seeing the councilor safe. And Tevos nearly got through... only in the last moment, one of the turians struck out with his leg, tripping her up and sending the councilor crashing heavily on the ground.

The commandos lost their cool and composure immediately, seeing the councilor vulnerable on the ground. The weapons came out now, prompting a similar reaction from the crowd. The mob began to surround them again, Siasani using her biotics to push some of them back, but arms reached out, grabbing the feisty asari and pulling her into the crowd, the last Tevos would ever see of the leader of her personal guard. Cheya, standing over her, fought bravely to protect her, but went down with a quiet grunt, a turian blade sticking deep into her gut.

Zenoia and the three other commandos had almost reached them, and Tevos had managed to get back up to her feet, only to feel someone grabbing her from behind. She struggled desperately to get out of the firm grasp, seeing more and more arms reaching out to grab her, feeling the fabric of her robe getting torn and quickly stripped away, leaving her nearly bare. The attackers spun her around, rough hands seizing her exposed breasts, squeezing her flesh painfully, others simply throwing punches, not caring where they landed.

_Is this how I was always destined to die, torn apart by an angry mob in a dirty alley?_ she thought desperately, but then Zenoia and the commandos were there, heavy use of biotics throwing her attackers back as Tevos landed on the ground painfully. She felt Zenoia herself picking her up in her arms and quickly turning around to carry her towards the shuttle, the other commandos trying to cover them as the crowd rallied to retaliate again. Gunfire was ringing around them, and Tevos was certain of having seen another one of her commandos going down, the angry mob hot in pursuit.

A hail of thrown objects fell upon them, her semi-naked frame getting hit by a shower of rotten fruits, heavy rocks and sharp edged metallic debris, something hitting Zenoia as well, making the young commando stumble and almost drop her, but she continued determinedly, also getting hit by the fire of pistols and SMG's, several shots penetrating her barriers, still the asari guardian kept running, the shuttle only a few yards away. Another hail of thrown objects fell upon them, a sharp edged stone hitting Tevos on the temples and knocking her unconscious, as with her last bits of strength, Zenoia threw her body into the shuttle and then collapsed over the councilor, slowly bleeding out from her fatal injuries as the shuttle, piloted by the last surviving commando, took off and sped to safety.

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

The reporters had camped outside the T'Soni Estate for three days, ever since the story first went on air, Shepard and Liara completely ignoring the journalists, their thoughts solely with their dear friend, once they had heard about the attack on the Citadel, aimed at Tevos. On the fourth morning, one of the reporters had managed to climb the high fence to take pictures of Lita playing in the garden, scaring the child, and that had finally tipped Shepard over the edge. She had gone outside to confront the reporters, who had immediately began to pepper her with questions... only to find themselves staring down the barrel of Morgan's Carnifex. When her warning that as a Spectre she could easily kill anyone present without needing a justification was not treated seriously enough, she began to first meticulously destroy the equipment of the gathered reporters, finally having to shoot one particularly annoying salarian in the leg. That was when the damned press finally got the hint and made a frantic escape, screaming something about Shepard having gone mad.

After the Citadel attack, Tevos had been taken immediately to the Destiny Ascension, the asari leadership refusing to let her remain on the Citadel, at least for the time being. Her injuries had not been life threatening as such, but the councilor was deeply shocked due to her harrowing experiences, confronted with such brutality and hatred, and having lost almost all the commandos that had served her loyally for decades, some even centuries. Only the shuttle pilot had survived, after Zenoia had fought for her life two days aboard the Destiny Ascension, eventually losing the battle, the news worsening the councilor's mental state even further.

Once Tevos was out of danger and began to improve, however, her guardian and commander of the Destiny Ascension, Matriarch Lidanya, received the biggest surprise of her life, when one Aria T'Loak shocked her with a surprise visit, coming aboard her ship and then nearly making the matriarch faint when the Queen of Omega demanded that her bondmate was to be brought to their estate on Thessia, where she could recover in peace. Having overcome the utter shock, Lidanya spent hours making sure that Aria was speaking the truth, eventually having to grant Aria's wish, regardless of her opinion of the Pirate Queen. At least Lidanya possessed the tact and good sense not to confront Tevos over the issue, simply asking the councilor whether she wished to be taken home by Aria, Tevos quietly nodding her acceptance.

Of course, this meant that the proverbial cat was out of the bag, but Tevos was too depressed to care, Aria was too angry to give a damn, and everyone in the Asari Republics were shocked and worried over what was happening to the asari people, frightened for their fates, after their councilor had been so brutally attacked on the safest bastion in the entire galaxy, the Citadel. In these circumstances, the revelation that Tevos was bonded to Aria T'Loak, the ruthless businesswoman and former criminal warlord of Omega, did not create as much stir as it would have done under other circumstances, everyone more or less already sympathizing with Tevos, because of what she had gone through during the attack. Hence, the reaction had been more accepting than Tevos and Aria could have hoped for, even if they both knew that once Tevos had recovered, the matriarchs would wish to press their inquiries.

With Tevos and Aria back in Armali, Liara and Shepard spent most of their time over at Aria's estate, Lita also happy to spend time with Rila and Falere, lately beginning to call the two Ardat-Yakshi her two big sisters. And Aria and Tevos needed help of their own, following the tragedy on the Citadel. The councilor required constant melds to help ease her through the mental trauma she had suffered, and Aria openly admitted being unable to help this time, her entire being was utterly consumed with anger and dreams of violent retribution, and she did not trust herself to keep these emotions in check when melding with Tevos, keenly aware that it was not what her bondmate needed at this time. So, Aria had set her pride aside and simply asked Liara whether she would be able to help, and the maiden had agreed without much thinking.

Through the mental connection with Liara, Tevos was slowly beginning to improve, while Aria spent days locked up in a darkened study at their estate, going through the retrieved security footage from the Citadel, trying to identify those responsible for the attack. That was where Liara found her one afternoon, following her session with Tevos, watching Aria studying yet another recording, for which she had probably paid thousands of credits to get her hands on, making some corrupt C-Sec officer very rich indeed.

"I wish you would not do this, Aria," Liara said softly, her heart breaking a little for the older couple.

"You know that I must, T'Soni," Aria snapped back impatiently. "My bondmate was... beaten... humiliated. Violated! Don't tell me that you would not be planning bloody revenge if something like this had been done to Shepard."

"Of course, I would want to do exactly the same," the admission came easy to Liara. "But still, it is my duty as a friend to try and talk you out of something that can send you back down the path to darkness. The truth about your relationship with Tevos was not received worse also because the change of your image... if you run amok on the Citadel, slaughtering people left and right... how many of them have you identified by now?"

"Seventeen," Aria snarled angrily.

"Well, if you went on a bloody rampage killing seventeen civilians on the Citadel, you would undo all the work you had done previously," Liara said.

"I don't care... they must die for what they did," Aria stated, sounding a little less convinced now.

"If you are adamant about it... let us help you," Liara sighed as she spoke. "Take Shepard with you. She will invoke her Spectre immunity... the whole notion of you taking justice and retribution in your own hands does not sit well with me, but I suppose I won't be able to talk you out of it. At least Shepard can prevent your reputation taking a severe hit."

"Aiding with something that you disapprove of... that's very unexpected, T'S-... Liara."

"Well, it was Shepard's idea, actually... I just see it as the lesser of two evils, I suppose," Liara shrugged, her eyes momentarily drawn to the footage on the screen before them, the maiden wincing as the pictures replayed the moment when Tevos was knocked down, Liara turning away in disgust when the thugs began to rip away the councilor's clothing. "Why do you torture yourself like this?" she could not help but to ask, noticing Aria's narrowed eyes, tightly knit lips and tense, rigid posture.

"I must," Aria replied, as if it was the most self-explanatory thing in the galaxy.

Driven by the sorrow in her heart, Liara reached out and placed her hands on Aria's shoulders, the tight knots of tensed muscles hard as stone. Guided by pure instinct, vaguely realizing that this was the first time ever since knowing Aria when she had been the one to instigate physical contact, she started to gently rub the Pirate Queen's tense shoulders. _Exactly like Shepard, when she's nervous or agonizing over something. I've learned how to give a massage to a human... wonder if the same technique will work for an asari as well... I think it should, and by the goddess, Aria is so worked up about it all, it feels as if she badly needs it. _

"Mhm... that is... very nice," Aria sounded a little surprised, starting to relax as Liara's hands slowly untangled the painful and twisted knots of muscles in her shoulders and neck. "You have... very skilled hands, T-... Liara."

"I have practiced a lot on Shepard," Liara grinned to herself as she replied.

"I just bet you have... oh, a little to the left if you could... mmm, yes, that hits he spot," Aria managed in a purring voice, leaning slightly backwards in the chair, pressing the back of her crest against Liara's stomach, as the younger asari continued her massage. "You do realize that under any other circumstances, I would find this whole experience extremely arousing?"

"Yes, I do," Liara deadpanned. "That is why I would never do it under any other circumstances."

"Good answer," Aria laughed. "Seriously, though..." she said, swiftly getting out of the chair and turning around to face Liara. "Thank you, Liara. Both you and Shepard have been there for us when we needed you, and I will not forget it."

"I know you would do the same for us, Aria," Liara smiled. "You would come to our aid if we needed help, you have already done so in the past."

"Naturally," now it was Aria's turn to smile. "I... consider you and Shepard to be a part of the family. And I protect my family."

As Aria kissed her on both cheeks before the two embraced softly, Liara realized one thing that both surprised her and made her feel strangely elated. This was the first time in eleven years when Aria's touch made her feel truly safe and comfortable.


	25. Painting The Citadel Red

_A/N: I've always resented the implication that Shepard can't dance. What a load of crock. :) _

**Chapter 25 – Painting The Citadel Red  
**

_Year 2196 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

"Are you quite done?" Shepard asked in a bored voice, leaning against the doorframe, then lazily popping salted peanuts into her mouth and starting to munch while she watched Aria working over a screaming turian, using a sharp metal pole, knocking the pleading thug down and then whacking him repeatedly until the bastard finally seized twitching and whimpering.

"Yeah. Now I'm done," Aria grunted, throwing the metal stick aside as she took several deep breaths, the savage beating she had unleashed on the unfortunate victim having left her very exhausted.

"So... how many targets do we have left?" Shepard inquired. The brutal violence was slowly starting to get to her a little, even if she had already learned so many new facts that made her approve of Aria's actions even more.

"Well, normally I would have said five, but since we got some new leads... let's see..." Aria switched on her omni-tool and took a peek at her notes. "Thirteen names left. That's going to take a while."

The new leads had appeared as a result of some of Aria's initial targets starting to talk when faced with the very real possibility of violent death. One human had dropped to his knees, begging for his life, confessing that he had thrown several rocks at the councilor, and then offering to reveal the names of some of the instigators behind the attack. Aria had spared him, as well as three others, two turians and a human female, all of them naming more perpetrators. They were still beaten to the brink of unconsciousness, but they would live, knowing never again to try something as despicable and cowardly as their attack on Tevos.

This new intel had led Aria and Morgan to some truly despicable individuals. In one apartment, they came across four humans, three men and a woman, having their way with a gagged and bound asari dancer. That time Morgan hadn't simply stood by and watched Aria slaughtering them all, she had struck out herself, taking disturbing satisfaction in watching her omni-blade cut through the flesh of the surprised offenders. She had alerted the nearby hospital directly afterwards, only for the sake of the injured and humiliated asari dancer, the doctors looking very disturbed after they had arrived to witness the scene before them.

In another hideout, they had come across a group of five, drinking and boasting, and when Aria's eyes fell upon the 'trophy' in the hands of one of the turians, the remains of her bondmate's ruined dress, she had gone completely berserk, reducing the five to red smears on the wall, her wild biotic discharges almost leveling the entire apartment. And while searching for a rare batarian involved in the attacks, Aria and Shepard had found him in one of the seediest bars at the bottom of Shalta Ward, boasting about stabbing one of the commandos to death. He had expired violently a few moments later, his death sparking a massive bar brawl amongst the few dozen patrons in attendance, and while Aria looked happy to remain there and kill anyone who would dare to attack or even come near her, Morgan had grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out of the bar.

"Aria, I know you are probably itching for more, but I don't think I can go on just now," Morgan sighed, shaking her head. "Let's take a break. I could do with a drink... or two... dozen."

At first Aria looked about to protest, disapproval etched across her features. Then she gave a small shrug, nodding curtly. "Fair enough... I am getting slightly tired," she confessed. "And a drink sounds just perfect. I think we're only two minutes away from the Purgatory, aren't we?"

"That's correct," Morgan smiled, relieved that Aria did not put up more protests. With this delay, there was a chance that some of the culprits would learn about their buddies getting killed all across the Citadel, burrowing down and disappearing, but it was a chance that they had to take simply for the sake of retaining their sanity, and she was happy to see Aria recognizing that as well.

Purgatory looked much the same as it did during the Great War, there was only one difference to the place now, they could see no asari present in the establishment and the dancers and waitresses had been replaced by near-naked human females. On the way to the bar, Aria had to punch at least two idiots in the face, not recognizing her identity and approaching her with some kind of racial slurs, ending up collecting their teeth from the busy dance floor.

Aria and Shepard simply ordered two bottles of Noverian rum, grabbed a pair of empty glasses from the counter and crawled to a remote booth, desiring privacy as they enjoyed their small drinking binge. The word about their and especially Aria's presence spread quickly throughout the premises, and Morgan was only too happy to note that soon enough everyone gave their booth a very wide berth, not fancying their chances in getting tangled up with the Pirate Queen or Spectre Shepard.

"How are you, Aria? I mean, really, how are you?" Shepard asked after they had both finished the first glass of rum, watching the cold, hard expression on Aria's face slowly beginning to slacken.

"I don't know what to reply to that, Shepard," Aria shrugged. "I'm just doing what I know needs to be done. I'm not really over-thinking this. We're killing off a bunch of assholes. That's all there is to it."

"You know that Tevos isn't going to feel better from knowing what you did, so you're actually doing this for yourself," Morgan remarked. "Is it making you feel better?"

"No. Yes... maybe, a little bit. Damn it," Aria cursed. "Not as much as I hoped it would. Still, these thugs are the worst dregs of the society, the lowest of scum, worse than most of my people on Omega... cleansing the Citadel from these bastards is... well, we're doing the people here a favor."

"After what I've seen today... I'm rather tempted to agree," Morgan nodded.

"I... wonder how they're doing back on Thessia," Aria sighed wistfully, deep into her second cup. "Damn... I miss her, you know. But your perfect little bondmate is doing such a great job with helping Tevos... I'm quite thankful to her, I know I would just fuck something up if she were exposed to the ugly thoughts of blood and death in my head... haven't dared to meld with her since the attack..."

"Give it a little time, Aria... you'll both be fine," Shepard smiled encouragingly.

"Yeah, I know we will," Aria said. "It's just... hard. I'm not used to being patient. And after all this violence and killing, damn... I... need her so much right now." The Pirate Queen looked at Shepard with a hungry expression in her eyes. "Damn it, look at how easily I fall back to that old way of thinking... I am just so hungry to get laid after something like this, and you're here and attractive as ever, and… shit, I'm tempted, so very tempted, but I simply can't..."

"I know what you mean, Aria," Morgan quietly agreed. "All this violence... damn, if Liara was here, I know exactly what the two of us would be doing. And I'm starting to get a bit drunk, I'm feeling sorry for what you and Tevos are going through, and you are perfectly aware of the almost animal magnetism you possess... I'm probably as vulnerable to agreeing to sleep with you as I'll ever be, Aria, and I still can't do that... so let's not go there."

"Fuck, Shepard... you saying that just made the urge get a lot worse," Aria groaned, quickly drowning another glass.

"Uh... sorry," Morgan grinned guiltily, able to imagine perfectly well just how Aria was feeling right now.

For a while, neither of them said anything, drinking and quietly working on reaching the bottom of their respective bottles, until Aria suddenly snapped her fingers, a wicked expression on her face. "I've got it!" she exclaimed. "I've figured out a way how we both can help each other with our little... issue..."

"Oh? Do tell..." Shepard ventured, her curiosity piqued.

"Let me explain..." Aria grinned, leaning closer and beginning to whisper in Morgan's ear, the human's face slowly starting to color with a pronounced blush, Shepard feeling as if someone had suddenly turned on the heat in the Purgatory.

"That's kind of... skirting the edges a little, there, Aria..." she muttered, slightly uneasily.

"But not crossing them, wouldn't you agree?" Aria asked. "I do not want to cross any borders, myself."

"I... suppose it doesn't, at that," Morgan finally agreed.

"So, you're in?" there was challenge in Aria's eyes, one that Morgan knew she could not refuse.

"...alright, you're on," she nodded, pouring more rum into her glass. "But let me finish this bottle off... I think I need to be a bit more drunk when we try that..."

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

_'Thank you, Liara.'_ The profound feelings of gratitude were the last thing that Liara sensed through the meld before the two minds gently untangled. The younger asari rolled over on her back in the bed and lay there, staring at the mural covered ceiling, waiting patiently until her thoughts slowly settled.

The sessions she had with Tevos were intense, emotionally exhausting, but in the end, ultimately rewarding, and most importantly, Liara felt that she had been able to help the councilor heal from the mental fractures she had sustained during the Citadel assault. Tevos still spent most of the time resting and sleeping in her bedroom, but at least lately she had began to move around the estate, no longer looking in panic when the prospect of taking a walk in the garden was brought up.

"How are you feeling?" Liara asked softly, turning her head to look upon Tevos' profile, the councilor also resting on her back and staring at the ceiling. There were still one or two scars on the older asari's face, but the treatment she was receiving, coupled with the fabled asari regeneration meant that the marks would eventually fade.

"Better. Much better," Tevos replied quietly. "As if a massive weight had been lifted from my chest. The guilt and the memories will creep back as the hours pass by, but… with every day, every melding, it becomes easier. And I have you to thank for it, Liara," she reached out, taking the maiden's hand in hers.

"Well… I have to thank you in turn, because our melds are helping me as well," Liara replied, squeezing the councilor's hand in a gesture of affection and encouragement. "I'm glad that both Aria and Shepard were in favor of allowing us to go ahead with these sessions."

"Why wouldn't they, if it helps us both to heal?" Tevos asked. "Possessive as Aria is, she knows that she cannot help me right now, desperate as she is to do something to aid. Her entire being is consumed by anger, hatred and dreams of vengeance, and she is entirely correct in denying me the joining of our minds until she has worked these dark, destructive feelings out of her system. I love her with my entire being, and once she returns from the Citadel, hopefully in better spirits, I will welcome her, cherish the presence of her strength, protectiveness and security that she empowers me with. But right now, I require a gentler mind to join with… and Liara, I do not know of anyone else more suited than you."

"I am… truly delighted that I can do something to help you both," Liara admitted, her heart swelling with joy and satisfaction, buoyed by the elation that she still felt from the meld. "But you know that you are helping me almost as much, do you not?"

"Yes… I do," Tevos admitted after a moment of silence. The guilt that sometimes was literally tearing Liara apart from the inside came and went, but she had not been able to deal with it in a satisfactory way, not until she was certain that her decisions had not ruined any dreams of future that her beloved daughter might have. "I am… not entirely certain why you do not allow Shepard to help you with these feelings, Liara. She is caring, patient, and her love for you is boundless."

"I… do allow her to help, but… it is just so very hard for her," Liara spoke up quietly. "Whenever I allow her to sense my anguish, it just makes her so depressed because she does not know how to help me feel better, and that in turn makes me feel even guiltier for upsetting her. She knows that it was my desperate love for her that made me succumb to my desire to have a child with her, no matter the cost… and she begins to blame herself as well, and I will not have that. Morgan has too many regrets of her own to dwell upon, she does not need to agonize over my impulsive and hasty decisions as well."

"This war has left its harsh imprint on us all, hasn't it?" Tevos asked softly.

"Will we ever truly heal, do you think?" Liara ventured, still sounding a little hopeful.

"Yes, we will, we have to believe that," the councilor said. "We will endure by helping each other, and eventually we will purge these ugly shadows from our lives, finding ourselves able to move on."

"I... will do my best to cling on to the hope brought by your words," Liara sighed, settling in a little closer to Tevos until their shoulders touched. "I just wish it did not take as long as it does. Times like this, I almost consider the asari life span a curse instead of a blessing."

"But it also provides us with a wonderful opportunity by granting us plenty of time in which to work and try to atone for the mistakes we have made," Tevos said, Liara understanding perfectly well what the councilor had meant. During their first melds, Tevos' guilt over her own actions prior to the Reaper War had almost overwhelmed Liara with its intensity. These feelings had almost convinced Tevos that she deserved what had been done to her by the mob of protesters. Together, they had worked through these emotions, and progressed to the point where Tevos still accepted the responsibility and shouldered the blame, but began to see her purpose in diligent work to help build a new, more peaceful galaxy, instead of believing that she deserved to meet her end at the hands of an enraged crowd.

"Yes... that it does," Liara finally agreed, feeling unusually content, finding strength and hope in their close quarters. She felt so comfortable and at ease that she didn't even stir at the light knock on the door, before Falere poked her head through the gap in doors, grinning broadly when she saw them both sleepily lounging on the bed.

"That looks awfully comfy," the smiling maiden chuckled, stepping into the room. "And I truly hate to interrupt, but..."

"What is it, Falere?" Tevos looked kindly upon her unlikely stepdaughter. "Oh... have they arrived already?"

"Yes, the shuttle landed in the courtyard moments ago," Falere nodded.

Liara rose from the bed and sent an inquiring look in the direction of Tevos. "What is happening? Tevos, are you certain that you are ready to receive visitors?" she asked, a little worriedly.

"No, I am not certain... but I have to," Tevos nodded grimly, slowly beginning to rise from the bed as well, then looking up at her stepdaughter. "Falere, my sweet, please take Ambassador Irissa up to the Green Study. I will meet her there."

"Of course, mother," Falere bowed, Liara smiling as she always did when either of the maidens used that particular word to refer to Tevos, or when calling Aria their 'father'.

"Ambassador Irissa has come all the way from Palaven? My friend, you are in no shape for political games," that did not stop Liara from giving Tevos a disapproving frown.

"Yet I must, for the good of our people," Tevos nodded stubbornly. "The post of the councilor cannot remain empty for too long, and I am in no shape to return to my duties, not now, not anytime soon."

"Is Irissa seeking your endorsement?" Liara asked.

"No," Tevos shook her head. "She already has it. Come, walk with me, Liara. I want you to accompany me when I speak with Irissa."

"Would she agree to discussing secrets of the state in my presence?" Liara wondered.

"She will have to," Tevos said firmly, smoothening out her robe and then taking Liara's hand as they left the bedroom and began the short walk down the corridor towards the Green Study. "I need you to be there for me, Liara. In Aria's absence, you will be my strength."

Liara knew then that she could not refuse the request, and truth be told, she felt more than a little curious about what Tevos would have to discuss with Ambassador Irissa, a well known figure in the political circles who had served as the envoy of the Asari Republics on Palaven for the past thirty five years.

Irissa arrived moments after Tevos had sat down on one of the comfortable soft chairs, Liara choosing to stand directly behind the councilor, her arms pressed against the backrest of the chair. The ambassador's appearance was harsh and almost challenging, which Liara surmised could be because of spending so much time amongst the turians, but her voice as she greeted Tevos was soft and melodic, Irissa stepping closer to prevent the councilor from rising from the chair, instead bending down as the two shared a friendly embrace. As Irissa leaned back, her eyes fell upon Liara, widening a little from surprise.

"Ambassador, I trust you recognize Doctor Liara T'Soni, our hero of the Reaper War?" Tevos asked by the way of introduction.

"I do, indeed. It is an honor," Irissa nodded, approaching Liara and offering the customary open-palmed greeting, which Liara quickly accepted, sensing no ill intent from the other asari, save for mild curiosity. "I was lead to believe that this meeting would be private, Councilor," Irissa did say, looking at Tevos.

"I am afraid I will have to insist, Irissa," Tevos replied, her voice a little weak but still firm. "Is this going to be a problem?"

"No... no," the ambassador shook her head quickly enough. "I am certain that Doctor T'Soni has only the best interests of our people close to her heart." Liara simply nodded, watching Irissa relax a little as she pulled up a chair and sat herself down to face Tevos.

"Have all the arrangements been made?" was the first thing that Tevos asked.

"Yes," Irissa nodded quickly. "It is a little disconcerting leaving Palaven after spending so much time there. And the situation on the Citadel is so volatile that truth be told, I no longer dearly covet the post I once desired so much. But for the good of our people, I know I must accept."

"There could be no better candidate, my friend, and we both know it," Tevos spoke in a kind voice. "If there is a way I can aid you behind the scenes, I will. Goddess knows, your reign will not be an easy one."

"My temporary reign," Irissa corrected quickly. "I only accepted this with a condition that you will be allowed to return to the post once you are able to resume your work."

"You are too kind, my friend," Tevos smiled. "Did the matriarchs agree to this condition? I cannot imagine they would have been too happy about it. Some of them now blame me for what has happened, believing that I allowed it to escalate."

Irissa's face twisted in distaste. "Typical," she snarled angrily. "If it was the Shadow Broker, as you believe, then we both know that there was no way anyone could have prevented this. As for the reaction of the matriarchs... we struck a compromise that my work would be evaluated again in five years from now. I hope that it will be enough time for you to recover, Councilor."

"It will be... but you better get used to not addressing me that way, Councilor Irissa," Tevos smiled.

"I will use your title even if you are currently not in the office, Tevos," Irissa shook her head defiantly. "Now... there are a few less pleasant issues that I have been instructed to... go over with you. But only if you think you can deal with something like that, I would not dream to force anything upon you after what happened," the would-be councilor raised her palms in a conciliatory gesture.

"There is no sense delaying the unpleasant, Irissa. I will endure," Tevos said simply, reaching upwards to find Liara's hand on the backrest, drawing comfort from a gentle squeeze of the maiden's hand, before the ambassador spoke again.

"Very well," Irissa squirmed a little uncomfortably in the chair. "The matriarchs have... devised steps to take in hopes of appeasing the enraged populations of the Turian Hierarchy and Systems Alliance in particular. While the financial situation of the Republics is not brilliant by any means, we will offer significant reparations to both humans and turians, in credits, resources, important research data and there is even talk of sacrificing several prospective colony worlds in order to maintain peace."

"That is very generous," Tevos said, shaking her head a little. "Anything to preserve peace and not become the outcasts of the galaxy, I suppose."

"And that is not all," Irissa continued, looking a little uncomfortable. "An official investigation has been opened in the case of the Prothean beacon on Thessia. I'm afraid that you are amongst those who are implicated of knowingly hiding the truth, Councilor. If the investigation confirms that you knew the exact nature of the information contained by the beacon..."

"I did not know anything else other that there **was** a Prothean beacon," Tevos exclaimed angrily, a shudder running through her, forcing Liara to slip her hand onto her friend's shoulder, steadying her. "If this investigation is anything more than simply a show to put up for the angry crowd demanding satisfaction, then it will not find any _real_ evidence to implicate me with. Who is overseeing the investigation?"

"That... would be me," Irissa said quietly.

"Have you gathered the files from the GBC?" Tevos demanded. Irissa responded with a nod. "We believe they are forged. Can I ask for a copy, so that my people can go over the facts as well?"

"Slightly irregular, but I will do what I can," the ambassador responded. "There were several logs showing your name amongst the visitors of the temple of Athame, but I cannot confirm that they were genuine. We are only beginning our investigation, and it could take considerable time until it is completed, but I can already say that the evidence against some of the matriarchs is stacked more heavily than it is against you, and their hysterical reaction to the accusations speaks volumes in itself."

"I have nothing to hide in this matter, Irissa. Ask me anything you wish," Tevos offered.

"No, I will not burden you with this right now, my friend," Irissa shook her head. "I am not prepared to conduct a questioning right now. However... there is another question that you knew would be asked by many."

"Yes, I think I know what you mean," Tevos sighed.

"Aria T'Loak? Councilor... are you serious?" Irissa said, looking a little astonished. "This, on top of everything... some of the matriarchs are enraged! I will do what I can, but..."

"I do not expect you to sacrifice your own career by protecting me, Irissa. I will answer for my choices and my decisions," Tevos replied, then rolling up a sleeve of her robe and revealing the beautiful bondmate bracelet. "Aria and I are bonded, yes. And I will not make any apologies for it. It is time for the matriarchs to swallow their pride and accept that the Republics need someone like Aria, her influence and her resources, especially in times like these."

"Yes... that was my reply to the matriarchs as well, and it did make them pause," Irissa nodded. "We have been wondering about the change in Aria's operations ever since the Reaper War. Some of the less conservative matriarchs have been thinking of reopening diplomatic relations with Omega, unaware that you have been forging... your own connection all this time, councilor."

"I believe that Aria can become a loyal and powerful ally and protector of our people," Tevos said with stubborn belief in her voice.

"That might be so, but... you do not honestly expect me to believe that this is a bonding of political convenience. Especially considering the history between you two," Irissa pointed out.

"You want to know the truth, Irissa?" Tevos drew herself up proudly. "The truth is that I love Aria. I have never stopped loving her throughout these centuries. I know that this answer will not satisfy the matriarchs, so you are free to spin whatever lie you need to appease them, but I have always considered you a friend, Irissa... and to you, I speak the truth. I love Aria, and I trust that she will do good by our people. That will have to be good enough, because I have nothing else to add."

Irissa looked a little uncomfortable at hearing these words, wincing a little as she probably already pondered on how to best rephrase this passionate response to the matriarchs who obviously cared little about the councilor's feelings, only worried that through Tevos, Aria would learn some of their secrets. "I... will see what I can do, my friend," Irissa eventually said. "Do you think that at some point I could have an audience with Aria? There is much that I think I could glean from a discussion with her."

"I will arrange it, Irissa," Tevos nodded tiredly, the ambassador noticing the exhaustion in the councilor's face, quickly getting up from her chair, motioning for Tevos to remain seated.

"I'm sorry if I have caused you pain, my friend... it was not my intent to be so inattentive to your condition," Irissa apologized, briefly embracing Tevos and giving a polite nod to Liara. "I shall take my leave of you now, with hopes of your swift recovery. May the goddess grant us strength to endure what is to come..."

As the new asari councilor left the study, Tevos' shoulders suddenly dropped, the older matron collapsing into the chair limply, shaking in exhaustion, all her energy spent in maintaining her regal image in front of Irissa, but now there was nothing left to give. Liara was at her side immediately, putting her arms around Tevos, slightly surprised when the matron's mind suddenly brushed against her consciousness in an unexpected shallow meld, Tevos reaching out, desperate to draw an ounce of her strength. Liara's lips curled in a satisfied smile as she felt her energy fortifying Tevos in her time of need.

_'Thank you for being there for me... for lending me your strength,' _Liara once again felt the gratitude over the mental connection.

_'No... thank you for needing my strength,' _she replied, smile never leaving her lips._ 'In being able to give... I feel as if I'm finding my deliverance...' _

* * *

_Kithoi Ward, The Citadel _

Shepard descended down the stairs from the upper floor bedrooms of Aria's Kithoi apartment, her head still very blurry from the two bottles of Noverian rum, the details of the previous night sketchy at best... but as she stepped into the downstairs kitchen and saw the surprising sight before her, memories instantly rushed back in a flood, making her let out a pained groan.

Aria was currently in the process of preparing breakfast, burning something reasonably nice smelling in the frying pan. She was wearing only her underpants and a tiny tank top, leaving plenty of purple skin exposed, her hips swaying to the catchy tune coming from the wall speakers as she danced, not having noticed Shepard's arrival at first, but then swirling around languidly and facing Morgan with an impish grin.

"Ah, my new favorite human dancer has arrived," she laughed heartily. "I didn't know you had it in you, Shepard."

"Well, I also had two bottles of brandy in me, which kinda explains a lot," Morgan grinned back.

"Still, you must have had some practice," Aria continued, undeterred. "Liara has probably trained you to put on some striptease for her, am I right?"

"You're not entirely wrong, no," Morgan finally admitted, looking around desperately for something to drink, a glass of juice to help with her hangover.

"And I got to benefit from your expertise last night," Aria said smugly, turning her attention back to the slightly dangerous looking randomly thrown together ingredients, sizzling in the frying pan. "I thought I'd thank you for the lovely memories by cooking you breakfast... make sure you appreciate this, because I don't just do it for anyone."

"Hmm, intriguing," Morgan smiled, giving the contents of the pan a slightly worried stare, wondering if food poisoning was a likely outcome, but overall it smelled delicious, so she poured herself a glass of asurio juice and sat down at the table, waiting for Aria to finish and then unceremoniously toss half of the contents of the frying pan on her plate, leaving the other half for herself. "This is pretty good, Aria... what is it?" she asked, having taken a few spoonfuls of the strange fry-up.

"Oh, just my method of getting rid of all the less than fresh food in the fridge," Aria replied with a chuckle, laughing at the way Shepard cringed from the explanation. "Relax, Shepard, those expiration dates are merely... guidelines. It won't kill you, trust me."

"Trust you?" Morgan scowled. "I did that last night, and ended up drunk and doing a strip dance to satisfy your perverse fantasies. Not sure how smart it is to trust you!"

"Hey, I might have been watching you shake your body for me, but my thoughts were on Tevos all the time," Aria said, a little defensively. "Besides, you got something in return, too. It's not often that I dance like that these days, not even for Tevos... I prefer to make her dance for me."

"Uh... yeah, it was quite... memorable," Morgan mumbled, feeling her cheeks grow warm from the memory of Aria's powerful, sleek body moving fluently in the rhythm of sensual music. Much like with Aria, her thoughts had been on her bondmate while she had watched Aria's performance, but the Pirate Queen had made it very difficult by keeping her eyes locked with Morgan's all the time, unlike Shepard keeping her eyes focused on something else nearly all the time while dancing for Aria, too embarrassed to even think about maintaining eye contact.

"Just memorable, eh? I feel a little insulted about this lack of praise," Aria scowled at her. "I'm the best in the business, and you damn well know it."

"We both know it, so why do you even want me to say it?" Morgan asked, shrugging. "You know perfectly well how attractive you are, so I'm not going to say it just to make your ego swell even more."

"Spoilsport," Aria glared, as they continued to eat the surprisingly palatable dish, even if Morgan was still convinced that it would probably come back to wreak vengeance upon her stomach later.

"I think I'd prefer if we didn't speak about what happened last night ever again," she pointed out, as they slowly finished the breakfast.

"If that's what you want," Aria shrugged. "I will remember, though." Morgan looked into the asari's eyes, forced to nod at that, knowing that she will remember the experience as well, despite trying to shrug it off as simple harmless foolishness.

"Yeah, well..." Morgan said, rounding up the last few surprisingly delicious morsels of the dangerous fry-up, then deciding to check whether she had any new messages on her omni-tool as she leaned back in the chair, taking the occasional sip of asurio juice. "Only twenty seven new messages... Liara wants to know when we're returning to Thessia," she muttered, typing a quick reply. "Also, Lita is reminding me not to forget about the list of toys I'm supposed to pick up for her..."

"So, our schedule for the day is... kill a lot of people, followed by shopping," Aria smirked. "I know which part excites me the most."

"Oh, and I have seven messages from different C-Sec officers and three from Bailey himself, asking me to stop by for a little chat about some incidents yesterday..." Morgan groaned. "I'll have to talk to them later... I just hope that they don't get in our way today. I'm not alright with killing C-Sec people as part of collateral damage."

"Fair enough," Aria nodded. "Bailey is not entirely annoying for someone in law enforcement. I have developed something of a shred of respect for him," the asari said, getting up from the table and looking as if she had suddenly remembered something. "Oh yes... I should probably find my pants before we head out."

"That seems like a wise idea, yes," Morgan nodded, also getting up, starting to mentally prepare herself for what they were about to undertake, trying to work herself into an angry, heartless mindset. The memories of what Tevos had been put through by the lynching mob served perfectly for this purpose.

"You're still up for this, Shepard?" Aria asked, her voice a little softer than usual. "You looked a little out of sorts a few times yesterday."

"But I didn't flinch, did I?" Morgan asked, Aria quickly shaking her head. "This is... different from war. It feels a little wrong to take satisfaction from something like this, yet a part of me does, and it still disturbs me a bit."

"That is something I went through a great many centuries ago," the Pirate Queen shrugged. "But the war has shaped you into a killer, Shepard. You may not like what we are doing, but you also need it, that is why you are here, helping me with this."

"Yeah... I'm over-thinking it again, I suppose," Morgan nodded.

"Well, stop dwelling on it. Just give yourself over to the instinct," Aria said, coming to stand close to her, taking Morgan's hands in hers and pressing her brow against Shepard's, standing like a pair of rigid statues next to each other for a good while. "Are you with me, Shepard?" the asari finally asked quietly.

"I am with you, Aria," Morgan replied, her hesitation and doubts banished for good. "Let us hunt..."


	26. Bonding Perks

_A/N: Warning for mature scenes of the sexy sort towards the end of the chapter. Aria and Tevos insisted on putting on a little show for you, my dear readers. ;) _

**Chapter 26 – Bonding Perks**

_Year 2196 CE  
New Arc, Arcturus Stream _

"Will you calm down, Jonathan?" Katherine Hock, the Head of the Financial Department on New Arc spoke impatiently, leaning back in the soft leather chair in her spacious office.

"Easy for you to say, Kat," her brother replied on the secure comm line, still sounding very nervous. "You're not the one poking Spectre Shepard with a sharp and pointy stick, tempting her to come after you."

"Just relax, little brother. She's never going to track you down," Katherine said, summoning all of her willpower not to snap at her brother. "Of course, if you give in to your panic and start making mistakes, the Spectres will find you. But you keep insisting that you are competent enough to serve as the Shadow Broker... or are you?"

"Jeez, Kat... give me a break here..." Jonathan sighed deeply. "Have you seen the footage from the Citadel? Don't tell me that seeing that carnage didn't leave you a little disturbed."

"I've seen the pictures. I can't say I was all that impressed," Kat shrugged, convincingly managing to appear unaffected, though in truth she had felt a little worried having seen the footage with scores of brutally murdered thugs on the Citadel, handiwork of the woman that they were trying to provoke. If Shepard ever discovered what she and Jonathan were up to, the Spectre immunity would allow her to simply murder them without requiring any justification for her actions. It was a sobering thought, but it did not instill her with fear, rather with motivation to work even harder to avoid getting caught.

"Of course, they are covering everything up," Jonathan swore angrily. "That's why I hate Spectres. One of my agents lost three of his informants amongst all those murders."

To Katherine, the retaliation by Shepard had seemed very impulsive and almost uncharacteristic from what she had learned about the savior of the galaxy. The belated and confused reaction of both the C-Sec and Council suggested that they had been kept out of the loop by Shepard, at first both making contradictory statements regarding the events, but then C-Sec had quickly amended their release to the press, adopting the Council's stance that Shepard had simply eradicated a criminal cartel that had taken deep roots on the Citadel. And recalling who had accompanied Shepard on this mission of destruction, also reminded Katherine of something else that she needed to speak to her brother about.

"One thing I do not understand, Jonathan," she said slowly and dangerously. "At first, I could not understand why Aria T'Loak would be partnering up with someone like Shepard. How could you not have known that Aria was bonded to Councilor Tevos, you blithering idiot? You are supposed to know these things, you complete and utter buffoon!"

"Hey... uh, sorry?" Jonathan was clearly taken by surprise from the sudden hostility in his sister's tone. "I did tell you that there was a lot of heavily encrypted information that I hadn't cracked yet, right? It was probably amongst all that..."

"That is not an excuse of a competent information broker, that's a pathetic argument of a soon to be dead one!" Katherine screamed angrily into the comms. "Who knows what sort of other crucial intel we are missing out on because of your sloppy work! I'm not going to get myself compromised because of your incompetence. Now, get this information decrypted, or I swear I will replace you with someone else!"

"C'mon, Kat, don't be like that, I'm honestly doing my best here," Jonathan sounded pleading and almost frightened by now. "Give me two months, and I'll have everything here decrypted, I promise."

"Very well, you will have two months, but if I don't have access to the entire database by then, I swear-"

"You will have the files, I will not sleep nor eat if needed, but you will have them," her brother promised hastily and Kat grinned, approving of the frightened urgency in his voice. "Oh, and just to make up for my earlier blunder... I have something that you will find very interesting."

"Well? Don't drag this out, you know I hate dramatic pauses!" Katherine fumed.

"I think I know the identity of the individual who helped Shepard kill our father," Jonathan explained smugly. "We knew that Shepard went to Bekenstein while she was still employed by Cerberus on their mission to defeat the Collectors. I had a feeling that she would have been accompanied by someone who was aboard of the Normandy at that time, so I pulled some old feeds from the Broker archives and went through them again and again, trying to spot something I might have missed."

"Well?" Kat demanded.

"I noticed that there was someone aboard the ship, someone who made a great effort to appear as little as possible on the security cameras, someone who always remained hooded and made sure not to reveal their face... but they still matched perfectly with the few blurry pictures we had from Bekenstein," Jonathan continued. "I've been trying to match these images with someone amongst Shepard's contacts... boy, are you going to love this..."

"Jonathan, I'm warning you-"

"Okay, okay, no more dramatic pauses," her insufferable brother laughed. "She is a Spectre as well now, just like Shepard. Her name is Kasumi Goto."

"Kasumi Goto... yes, I have heard of her," Katherine mused thoughtfully. "She was promoted to the Spectres five years ago. This is going to... complicate things a little."

"So, do we put out a hit on her or something?" Jonathan asked. "She can't be as tough as Shepard."

"Are you insane?" Kat hissed. "She's a Spectre! You can't just kill her as easy as that! She is a Spectre for a reason and there is a great chance that whoever we send after her will fail, and it would only alert them and make our task all the more harder. No, we need to play this smart. We need to throw her a bait, something... lure her or Shepard in and then close the trap. To simply murder her... no, that would not be appropriate. I also want her to know exactly why she will die."

"Hmm, I might need some time to plan that, Kat," Jonathan mused. "I'm thinking we should go after Goto first, perhaps then use her as bait to lure in Shepard. But it will probably take me a lot of time to set things in motion. I'll assign a few extra agents to monitor Goto's activities."

"No, absolutely not!" Katherine snapped, shaking her head angrily. "Jonathan, I will repeat one more time, she is a Spectre. Someone like her would always expect herself to be watched, but if you put extra attention on her, she will notice. You need to play this very carefully, Jonathan. This will be the ultimate test of your competence, do I make myself clear?"

"Err... yeah, sure thing, sis," Jonathan muttered uncomfortably.

"Then get to work, Jonathan," she said sternly, about to disconnect the call. "That is all for now."

_So, we're gunning for not one, but two Spectres,_ Katherine Hock thought, feeling a little frustrated as she tried to relax, leaning back in the leather chair. _I wish I had more confidence that Jonathan is up to this task, but somehow I doubt it. Something tells me that I will have to take care of things myself... _

Her eyes fell on one of the documents lying on her table, some directive signed by Councilor Steven Hackett, her face scrunching a little from envy. _Damn it, he gets to order both Shepard and Goto as he pleases... well, maybe he doesn't, but he certainly has the power to do so... if I could do that... hmm, wait a moment,_ she froze, mind starting to spin an intriguing web of possibilities. _Perhaps it is time to hasten my advancement through the corridors of power... yes, I believe it is. And perhaps the honorable Councilor Hackett has spent enough time in his privileged position... _

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

"...goddess..." Liara breathed heavily as Morgan rolled off from her body, much to the asari's relief remaining pressed against her side, sharing body heat as they both sighed contently in the aftermath of their Joining. "...I certainly feel as if... you have missed me..." her breathing ragged from exhaustion and elevated heart rate, Liara was still unable to speak properly. "...maybe I should... send you away with Aria... more often."

"Maybe not too often, though," Morgan replied tiredly, her slightly superior physical fitness allowing her to recover a little bit faster than Liara. The asari was still in excellent physical shape, but with Lita taking so much of her attention, she was not exercising as regularly as Morgan did. "Aria is like a walking aphrodisiac at times."

"Oh?" Liara gave her a curious stare. "I did not sense any... desperate attempts to hide something from me, there were no conflicting emotions seeping through our bond, but still… is there something you wish to share with me?"

"Well... that first night on the Citadel, I've been watching and helping Aria kill all those thugs in droves, and after that we both just needed to drink ourselves silly and switch our brains off... and later when we got to her apartment, well..." Morgan hesitated, not sure how to best explain the events of that night. "Actually... just let me show you what happened. Meld with me, please."

"Very well," Liara nodded, closing her eyes as she pulled even closer to Shepard, wrapping her leg around Morgan's as her mind quickly formed the by now comfortable, soothing connection with her bondmate, beginning to search for a particular memory. Having grown very adept with the joining process, Morgan helped the asari greatly by pushing the relevant memory at the forefront of her mind.

"Oh... my," was all that Liara said, blushing a little as her mind disentangled from Morgan's, having perused the memory, still feeling the strong embarrassment of her bondmate, associated with this particular experience.

"Umm... sorry, we probably shouldn't have done that," Morgan muttered a little guiltily.

"I'm just a little surprised, but I'm not angry," Liara said softly, pressing a quick kiss on Morgan's cheek. "Also... I feel like digging that Afterlife dancer's outfit from the wardrobe and make you put on a show for my benefit now..."

"Aww, babe, you just want to embarrass me further..." Morgan protested.

"What, you can put on a show for Aria, but you won't do it for me?" Liara glared a little at her. "The fact that you did it does not make jealous, but that you refuse to do the same for my pleasure, that does make me a little upset."

"Oops, no, I don't want to do that, definitely not... never," Shepard quickly recovered. "Very well, the 'Undercover Spectre posing as Afterlife dancer' act is coming up a little bit later, after I've rested a little more. Will that grant me forgiveness?"

"Hmm, possibly," Liara grinned cheekily. "Depends on how good the performance is," she added, laughing as Shepard drew her closer and claimed her lips in an increasingly heated kiss, the desire and hunger starting to swiftly rise again. "No, wait..." she pushed Morgan away a little, chuckling at the resentful, surprised look on her bondmate's face at being denied. "This would just lead to another Joining, and to you getting more exhausted, and I would never get my dance. You wanted to rest and regain your strength, well, then rest."

"Aw, spoilsport," Morgan chuckled, knowing that she had no right to complain. After the shuttle carrying her and Aria had landed on Armali and Morgan had gotten back to the T'Soni Estate, she and Liara hadn't done much else other than making out these past few hours. "So, what's new here? How's Tevos doing?"

"You heard about her stepping down, yes?" Liara asked, Morgan quickly nodding. "They say it is only temporary, but it will depend on so many things, one can never know how it will all pan out. But she seems at ease with the decision, knowing that it is the right one for the moment."

"I guess it is, considering everything that happened," Morgan nodded. "And what about Lita and the others? How are they doing?"

"Oh, Falere and Rila have taken great care of our daughter while I have been working with Tevos, Lita truly enjoys playing with them. And she will love all the gifts that you have brought for her when she finds them in the morning." Morgan and Aria had arrived in the middle of the night, and Liara had decided against waking their daughter, even if it would earn her a few glares from Lita later in the morning. The selfish need to have Morgan all to herself as soon as possible might have also played a part in that decision as well, not that she was going to admit it to anyone.

"Took me and Aria a few hours to track down the Limited Edition Spectre Blasto Investigation Kit," Morgan chuckled. "I guess she's growing out of those plush toys, isn't she?"

"She certainly is," Liara smiled softly. "Morgan... you do not plan to leave again for some time, do you?"

"I was thinking of spending the next couple of weeks home... well, but you can never know with these emergencies of late," Morgan's brow furrowed in annoyance. "At some point I need to make another trip to the Citadel and have a chat with the replacement of Tevos... Irissa, was it?" Liara nodded at that. "Anyway, any particular reason why you asked?"

"No, I simply would like you to spend more time with Lita," Liara spoke up thoughtfully. "She really missed you while you were gone, you know. And… with the amount of time I spend with her, and because of our melds... I would not want her to grow up having a... favorite parent."

"Oh... you think that is happening?" Morgan asked, feeling a little worried.

"No, not yet," Liara shook her head, trying to reassure her bondmate a little. "Perhaps I worry about it needlessly, because of how Benezia excluded my father from taking part in my upbringing, but... why wait for a problem to even develop? Lita adores you, and I'm sure we will never do anything to change that."

"I was actually planning to take her for a day in the mountains tomorrow," Morgan smiled. "I've missed her as much as I have missed you."

"That sounds lovely," Liara nodded, then disentangling from her bondmate and nimbly getting out of the bed, approaching the large wardrobe, opening it and starting to dig through a large box at the bottom of the wardrobe. "Now, where did we put that lovely outfit of yours?"

"Meh, the conversation didn't distract you from that idea?" Morgan gave her bondmate a mildly amused stare.

"Distract me? Never," Liara exclaimed, standing up sprightly while holding the skimpy garment in her hands, making Morgan sigh despondently while eyeing the lacy contraption. "Now stop moaning and put it on," the asari ordered, throwing the garment to land on Shepard's stomach, assuming that imperious air about her that always drove Morgan wild, propelling her off the bed as she began to slowly put the outfit on.

"You're just lucky I love you too much to deny you anything, babe," Morgan chuckled as Liara made her way past her on the way back to the bed. Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets from surprise, when Liara startled her with a heavy slap against her naked backside.

"Less talking, more dancing," her bondmate growled, getting back into the bed and settling in the pillows, giving her a demanding, insatiable stare, filled with raw hunger and anticipation.

_Well, now..._ Spectre Morgan Shepard thought, feeling her bondmate's stare literally drinking in every movement she made, giving her body to the slow, alluring dance, trying to mimic the smooth, languid motions of the superbly skilled Afterlife dancers. _This... is shaping up to be another one of those nights to remember..._

* * *

"Everything alright, love?" Aria asked, her voice unusually tender, even for their private moments with Tevos. Her bondmate was still a little overwhelmed from the intensity of their Joining, her hands beginning to only slightly loosen the iron grip on Aria's back, legs still wrapped around Aria's waist, Tevos slowly lowering them back on the bed as the aftershocks started to fade. There had been nothing but happiness and desire radiating through the bond, so Aria wasn't sure why she was even asking the question because she knew that for the moment Tevos was perfectly content, briefly wondering just when she had developed the habit to make such instinctual reaffirmations purely for the benefit of her bondmate.

"Yes, Aria... that was beautiful," Tevos sighed contently, kissing her in a way that made Aria long to immediately slip back into the meld again, but she willed herself to reign in her desires, at least for a little bit longer, knowing that the night was still young and would hold plenty of opportunities for lovemaking later. "I missed you... badly. And I am delighted that you are in better spirits as well."

"Yes... I am sure that you have heard about the exact ways in which I managed to work off my anger," Aria said, a little uncomfortably, unwilling to touch upon anything that would remind Tevos about the Citadel attack and sour the mood of her bondmate. "All that needs to be said is that I did what I had to do, and that chapter is closed for me. I have cleared my mind of these distractions, and I can focus on what I have always strived to do. To make you feel safe and protected, you and the girls."

"I felt these feelings through our bond, Aria... and I felt safe and protected like never before," Tevos whispered, gently tracing Aria's cheek with her fingertips, running them across the Pirate Queen's bottom lip. "To know you feel that way towards me... I cannot think of anything more arousing..."

Aria almost whimpered aloud from the painful need of claiming her bondmate's lips, to throw themselves spiraling into another deep meld, to seek completion as their bodies clashed sensually, seeking that sweet release. She closed her eyes, swallowing heavily. "I... noticed how clear your thoughts were from... the ugliness of what happened on the Citadel," she managed, struggling to stop herself from ensnaring Tevos' wandering fingers between her teeth.

"Liara has been a great help with that... though I believe I have helped her almost as much in turn," Tevos said, mercifully pulling her fingers away, though it helped little when her delightfully naked body was still tightly pressed against Aria's frame.

"I hope you have not gotten too used to letting T'Soni roam around your mind," Aria growled, a little playfully. "I would hate to do something... drastic to remind her that you are mine, Tevos."

"Oh, please, Aria, you know better than that," Tevos smiled, her eyes glistening mirthfully. "Though I appreciate this little display of possessiveness. It is very... endearing..."

"Endearing, is it now?" Aria tried to appear stern, but did not entirely succeed. "Or perhaps it is you who needs the reminder..."

"And if I could only suggest to you a way in which to remind me to whom I belong..." Tevos purred in a way that made Aria's temples positively thudding with the maddening desire, but she still refused to give in to the passions, even if she knew that Tevos wanted it ever so badly as well.

"Perhaps in a little while... if you behave," Aria eventually managed a response. "But first, I would have you satisfy my... curiosity. Tell me just how T'Soni has been helping you, exactly."

"Well... like myself, she has made certain decisions in the past that... make her experience crippling flashes of guilt," Tevos explained softly. "By sharing our memories of these events, we both have been able to make strides towards accepting what we have done, and towards easing each other's burdens."

"Then I suppose I owe some gratitude to Liara," Aria finally conceded upon hearing the explanation.

"I believe that the fact that the whole galaxy has now heard about us being bondmates is also helping me in a way," Tevos continued. "The truth is now out there and we no longer need to live in hiding. I feel so liberated by the revelation that I do not even care whether the galaxy around us accepts our bond or not. Or whether the matriarchs eventually allow me to return to my post of a councilor."

"That's the right way to feel about these things, love," Aria chuckled. "Not giving a damn about what anyone else says."

"I knew you were going to say something like that, and I love you for it," Tevos smiled. "And with everything else that has been happening, the news about our scandalous relationship are not even amongst the most important news headlines... and when it is discussed, the reaction is not as negative as I feared it would be."

"Well... you do know that I own a small media empire by now. They will not say anything negative about us," Aria grinned smugly. "Besides, a third of the matriarchs have invested into my projects. And another third are desperately trying to make various overtures to me, hoping to curry a favor or two. Give me a little more time to work all the angles, love, and I'll make sure that the matriarchs will have no other options but to give you that cushy Council seat back again, if that is truly what you wish."

"I do wish it, once I am ready to resume my duties… and may I just say that the way you have planned everything... it is so impressive," Tevos purred throatily. "Almost intimidating... and arousing..."

"I have decided that you deserve only the best," Aria said in her imperious voice that she knew drove Tevos completely wild. "And that includes me, naturally."

"Naturally..." Tevos whispered back to her. "By the way... Irissa mentioned that she will need to speak with you later when you have the time..."

"Oh, I just bet she wants to talk," Aria chuckled. "I'm going to schedule our meeting on Omega in a few months, I think... that visit should make the bitch properly humble. She needs to learn early on that she will be dancing to my tune..."

"But you will remember that you are not allowed to seduce any other asari councilors, yes?" Tevos teased playfully.

"Such impertinence," Aria shook her head warningly. "You were the one who needed the reminder that you belong to me."

"Then perhaps you need to stop talking and get on with the... reminding?" Tevos asked in her best sultry voice, shifting her body in a tantalizing way under the weight of Aria's form draped over her.

"And do you have any ideas on what would be the most effective reminder?" Aria asked, her lips barely an inch from Tevos' mouth, fighting hard with herself to resist clamping her mouth over that of her bondmate's.

"I might have a few..." Tevos whispered, her leg rubbing against Aria's in a way that drove them both mad. "But I require a little... stimulation to recall these ideas..."

That was all the invitation Aria wanted to hear, pressing her lips against Tevos' mouth in a deep kiss, immediately slipping her tongue past her bondmate's lips as if to stake a claim to that part of Tevos' body, finding her tongue immediately ensnared by the gently biting teeth of her bondmate.

When Tevos was quick to initiate a meld, Aria did not resist, knowing it to be only a shallow one that her bondmate often enjoyed when they were simply kissing. Neither she nor Tevos, were even close to the point of breaking, still far from seeking a release through their Joining, though kissing as deeply as this, feeling their minds linked and warm bodies intertwined, it all served to quickly stoke their urgently growing need.

_'Mine,' _Aria sent through the meld, breaking away from Tevos' lips, pressing one final kiss on her mouth as if to seal her claim. She began trailing kisses down her bondmate's neck, collarbone, all the way down to her breasts, descending a little lower Tevos' body to gain better access to her new object of conquest.

_'Yours,' _Tevos conceded happily, as Aria's hand cupped her breast, pushing it a little upwards to where the Pirate Queen's lips eagerly awaited to claim the stone hard nipple, flicking her tongue against the sensitive nub, grazing it lightly with her teeth in all those ways that she had learned to drive Tevos completely mad with desire.

_'Mine too,' _Aria brought her other hand up as well to seize the yet unattended breast of her bondmate, rubbing her thumb against Tevos' nipple, feeling it stiffening even harder. She continued to sweetly torture her lover this way, until a loud gasp escaped from Tevos' lips and she desperately tried to arch her hips off the bed, finding herself hopelessly pinned down by Aria.

_'Goddess...' _nothing stroked Aria's ego quite as much as the clear evidence of how much her ministrations were arousing her bondmate, and Tevos' reaction was always so wildly unrestrained and immensely flattering.

_'Yes, that is correct,'_ Aria sent back, feeling both pleased and amused. _'I am your goddess. And you will never forget that.'_

With extreme reluctance, Aria's mouth eventually released Tevos' breasts and began to move downwards, trailing her lips and tongue across the soft planes of her bondmate's stomach, keeping her hands on Tevos' breasts and teasing her nipples, savoring the sounds that Tevos was making when she struggled desperately not to cry out aloud, making those barely audible infinitesimal whimpers.

_'Oh, Aria... I love what you are doing to me... please don't stop... never stop...'_ she could sense her lover's need growing in strength through the bond as she slid lower to guide her mouth against Tevos' entrance, her bondmate wordlessly spreading her legs wider to give her better access, already embarrassingly wet from Aria's attentions.

_'Why would I ever want to stop...' _Aria thought, unable to resist the strong urge to push down and taste her bondmate, the first tentative lick again making Tevos' hips arch off the bed, and now her bondmate did finally cry out loud, no longer able to contain her pleasure. _'The taste of you... I can never have enough,' _Aria truly bent to her task now, her lips and tongue sending Tevos squirming on the bed, moving wildly under her, but Aria easily held her in place.

_'Aria, please...' _she was surprised to find Tevos so close to begging already, but Aria did not complain, it always turned her on so madly, and this time was no exception. _'Don't... push me over... not yet...' _

_'I had no intention to let you off this easily, my pet,' _Aria responded with a particularly deep and teasing lick that sent Tevos shivering and crying out.

_'I need... want to... feel you...'_ Tevos whimpered through the bond. Her hands had been holding on to Aria's wrists until now, but suddenly the Pirate Queen felt one of her hands released as Tevos leaned a little away to desperately search for something on the nearby nightstand, sending a stack of datapads crashing on the floor in the process, not that anybody cared. _'Could you, please...' _she sensed Tevos' thoughts again, her bondmate gently removing Aria's hand from her breast and pressing a very familiar object in her hands. _'I need to feel you...' _

Aria forced herself to peel away from Tevos' heated center, looking up at what her bondmate had pressed into her hand. _'Oh fuck,'_ she could not help but to think when she noticed the familiar shape of their favorite toy, the mere thought of using it on Tevos capable of pushing Aria over the edge_. 'This is going to be one hell of a night to remember,'_ she thought desperately, feeling a spike of fiery heat blossoming in her center from the mere mental images of what was about to come.

_'I was counting on it, love...' _Tevos responded within the meld, smiling broadly as she sensed the rapid increase in Aria's arousal through the bond. Watching Aria fix the toy in place was an incredibly sensual image as well, and Tevos could not resist quickly slipping her fingers down into her wetness, then quickly withdrawing them again as Aria now settled back on top her, ready and eager to resume her task of bringing them both to the edge of the greatest pleasure imaginable.

_'I love you,' _Tevos felt Aria's thoughts filling her, at the very same time as the Pirate Queen drove her body slightly forward, gently pushing into her, the sheer delight filling them both at that moment something beyond description.

_'I love you too,' _Tevos replied, feeling as safe, protected and loved as never before, tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks as Aria gradually picked up the pace, thrusting through her silky, pliant warmth... and soon enough, the radiating brilliance of their shared pleasure pushed all other thoughts and feelings from their bond, as the two of them inescapably moved towards the tortuously sweet point of completion.


	27. Rise Of The Leviathan

**Chapter 27 – Rise Of The Leviathan**

_Year 2196 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

"Shepard, could you ask my father whether she would like to accompany us on our trip to the mountains?" Liara asked over the breakfast table, herself busy with trying to coax Lita into finishing up the vegetables on her plate, the little asari defiantly glaring at the offending morsels and looking unimpressed with the lecture of their nutritional value that her mother was giving to her.

"Sure thing, Li," Morgan smiled, staring lovingly the two most important asari in her life as she got up from the table. "By the way, I took the liberty of inviting Aria and her family along as well."

"That's lovely," Liara nodded, returning back to her impossible mission of persuading Lita. "Let me know when you receive a reply."

"Will do," Shepard nodded, leaving the veranda and quickly running up the wide stairs to the upper floor, hastily walking down the hallways to the very end of the northern wing of the estate, which Aethyta had established as her personal den of depravity and matriarchal wisdom. Along the way, her omni-tool sent a quiet beep to indicate an incoming message, Morgan quickly checking to see that it was from Falere, the young Ardat-Yakshi happily agreeing to join them on the hiking trip together with Rila. Morgan almost chuckled aloud when she read that the sisters had decided against asking Aria and Tevos, the couple not having left their bedroom ever since Aria's arrival in the middle of the night before.

Morgan was a little surprised that she had to knock on Aethyta's doors three times before hearing response in a form of a loud curse, Shepard having already started to fear that there was something wrong with the matriarch. Eventually, Aethyta opened the doors, looking more than just a little disheveled, loose robe draped across her shoulders in a way that left a generous amount of purple flesh exposed to Morgan's view, Shepard blushing furiously at the sight. "What?" Aethyta barked impatiently, glaring at her.

"Uh, sorry for inter-... is that a flask of coconut oil in your hand?" Morgan blinked, noticing the shiny bottle held by Aethyta.

"Yes, what of it?" Aethyta snapped. "Did you interrupt me just to ask that?"

"No, I-" Shepard began to speak, then getting interrupted by a loud moan coming from the depths of Aethyta's boudoir.

"...please, Mistress... please, I need..." she recognized Shiala's voice immediately, pleading and begging as it was, Morgan unable to stop herself from rising on the tips of her toes and stealing a glance over Aethyta's shoulder. The view revealed a very much naked Shiala, the powerful, sleek green-skinned shape twisting and arching in Aethyta's bed, the commando leader's hands tied to the bedposts, body glistening from the scented oils Aethyta had just finished applying.

"Oh... jeez, I didn't expect you to be up to this sort of thing early in the morning..." Morgan muttered, red-faced, taking a step back.

"Shepard, you are seriously testing my patience," Aethyta hissed. "First you interrupt us, and now you pointlessly continue to delay us? Just what did you want in the first place?"

"Err, right... we're going hiking to Mount Malinio, and Liara wanted me to ask whether you would like to join us," Morgan uttered quickly, trying to mask her embarrassment.

"I expect that I will be a little tired after my morning exercise," Aethyta grinned salaciously. "But perhaps Shiala would love to join you late. Will you go hiking with Shepard, Shiala?"

"Anything... I'll do anything you say, Mistress..." Shiala moaned incoherently, likely not even understanding what she was being asked.

"See, there you go, Shepard, Shiala will join you," Aethyta chuckled. "When did you plan to leave?"

"Uh... not for an hour at least," Morgan replied, thoughtfully scratching her head.

"Perfect, we will be done with our... therapy, by then," Aethyta winked, then quickly snapping the doors shut mere inches in front of the tip of Morgan's nose.

Shaking her head, Shepard returned back downstairs to inform Liara that they would be joined by Falere, Rila and Shiala on their little excursion to the mountains, and indeed, a little over an hour later, a skycar piloted by Shiala and carrying six people, took off from the T'Soni Estate grounds and leisurely flew over the nearby lake, taking a little scenic turn before heading straight for the majestic Mount Malinio, overlooking the city of Armali below.

During the trip, sitting in the co-pilot's seat next to Shiala, Shepard could not resist teasing the commando leader just a little, watching her blush even as she claimed she had no memory of even noticing Shepard's interruption. Morgan dropped all her teasing, however, when a very relieved and happy Shiala explained that she had not had a reoccurrence of her headaches for two months now, citing Aethyta's help as the biggest reason.

_Would be great if 'therapy' was always as enjoyable as they made it look, _Morgan chuckled inwardly as Shiala landed the skycar on a wide platform built into the side of the mountain, holding a landing pad, several viewing towers and a few more self-service utility buildings meant for the use by the visitors looking to spend their time exploring the beautiful paths crisscrossing the mountain.

Rila and Falere immediately darted towards one of the viewing towers, eager to absorb all the breathtaking views opening up at the top, Shiala and Liara going over a holographic map on a nearby console display, trying to choose a path across the mountain that they had not traversed yet, while Morgan quietly watched her daughter opening the box containing the Spectre Blasto Investigation Kit, donning her new and slightly comical looking detective hat and then arming herself with a massive magnifying glass, getting ready to 'explore'.

"I think we have settled on a path," Liara said, watching Falere and Rila beginning to climb down to rejoin them again. "But first, we need to make a little diversion... Shiala, do you remember the path to the _Anaes'osiri_?"

"I do, Mistress Liara," Shiala bowed her head. "An excellent idea."

"That's what I thought," Liara nodded, Morgan also by now knowing what her bondmate was referring to. The _Anaes'osiri _was a secret, hidden brook nearby, it's waters rumored to have almost mystical properties. The name loosely translated into something like 'wound of the goddess' in an ancient asari dialect, and having visited the place once with Liara, and having tasted the surprisingly refreshing and rejuvenating water, Morgan could understand very well why the brook had an aura of magic about it. Of course, Liara had destroyed all the surrounding mysticism quickly, claiming that the water simply had higher eezo content along with several other minerals in unusual concentration, Morgan listening and smiling at Liara's determination to explain everything logically.

Shiala and Liara then proceeded to collect everyone's flasks and water bottles with the intent to fill them at the brook, Falere deciding to accompany them on the short walk, Shepard and Rila remaining behind to watch over Lita, the asari child having spotted a suspicious footprint in the ground and now examining the nearby surroundings in hopes to find more 'clues'. The walk to the brook was narrow, steep and overall a little tricky for a small child to climb, so it was quickly agreed that Shepard, Rila and Lita would already start on their way further up the mountain, and given that Lita was constantly distracted by one discovery or the other their pace was very slow, allowing the others to easily catch up.

Considering that all the natural predators on Thessia had been hunted into extinction many millennia ago, Shepard knew that it was quite safe to allow Lita to wander around the sides of the path, though she still made sure to always keep her daughter within her sights. There had been some recent sightings of an animal called baenri on the mountain, a creature which was approximately the size of a grizzly and looked somewhat like a bear, with the exception that it was orange, had a glowing, red nose, a pair of majestic horns, was a herbivore and frightened very easily. Morgan was certain of having seen several of these baenri bears during her latest journey to Tuchanka, but Liara had not believed her, especially after she had confessed to having helped a group of krogan finish off a barrel of ryncol before witnessing the sights of the extremely rare animal.

"She is such a delight," Rila said quietly as they came to yet another halt, together with Morgan watching Lita enthusiastically pulling on a loose tree root, slipping and landing on her back with a soft 'oooph'. Within moments, the stubborn little asari was back on her feet and resumed pulling at the root, refusing to acknowledge defeat.

"Yes... yes, she is," Morgan replied, knowing that she was grinning as broadly as an utter fool, watching her daughter's antics.

"Falere and I are very happy that you allow us to spend time with her," Rila added quietly. "I can't imagine anyone else who would. And we will never be able to have children ourselves..."

"I don't see how I could not trust you after knowing you for so long," Morgan smiled comfortingly at the older of the two sisters. "And I'm sure Aria and Tevos will have a child of their own at some point, and they will be happy to have you and Falere looking over your younger sister."

"Younger sister..." Rila repeated slowly and thoughtfully. "Yes... yes, that is what their child will be to us... at least, I want to think so. I hope that Aria and Tevos would want us to view their child as our sister, as well."

"Of course, Aria and Tevos loves you both a great deal," Morgan said, gently patting the ponderous maiden on her shoulder. "Rila... can I ask you a question?" she asked a moment later. "Perhaps it is ill-advised to inquire, but..."

"I would be more than happy to satisfy your curiosity, Shepard," Rila turned towards her, urging Morgan to explain. "It is unwise for an Ardat-Yakshi to keep secrets, so feel free to ask me anything."

"Well, I was just thinking... considering that Aria and Tevos are... well, active in a... certain way. Doesn't that make it... a little hard for you and Falere, knowing what they-"

"Oh... I see," Rila blushed deeply. "I do not think it does, Shepard. Falere and I, we both know that by being unable to meld we have been denied something beautiful. But in a way, we don't know exactly what we are missing, since unlike Morinth, we never even tried a mating meld with anyone. That is why it is not as painful for us. Of course... sometimes seeing Aria show affection to Tevos, well, it... causes certain urges to stir within me... but in such moments, there is another way to seek relief, one that is completely harmless... you know of what I speak, do you not?"

"Of course," now it was turn for Morgan's cheeks to color slightly. "Is it really that simple, though? It seems as if the Ardat-Yakshi can keep themselves on the straight and narrow that easily, why lock them all up?"

"Well... most of the maidens who ended up in the monastery had discovered their condition during a disastrous, lethal and traumatic attempted mating meld with someone, unlike us. And it also made them keenly aware what they were missing out on, so they were more susceptible to the lure," Rila explained. "Hmm, talking about this reminds me of one of the commandos who were guarding us at the monastery. She was very allergic to all ingredients harvested on Lesuss, and we had to ship in food for her from Lusia. She could not eat any of those delicious desserts that I loved so much, and I felt just horrible for her. When I told her that I was sorry for her condition, she just gave me this strange look as if I was crazy, showing compassion to her when so much had been denied to me... but truth be told, I do not live my life constantly feeling as if something is missing from it."

"That's... that's just good to know, Rila," Shepard smiled. "I'm... very happy and relieved that you are not suffering."

"Well, even if I was suffering, Shepard, I would never try to ease my discomfort and meld with someone, because I know that I would be killing another living being. That thought alone causes me suffering beyond description," Rila said, shaking her head to clear it from the terrible mental image. "It should stop anyone possessing base decency and at least a semblance of moral values. Do you think you could not stop yourself from engaging in an intimate encounter with someone, if you knew that it would lead to the death of your partner?"

Morgan couldn't stop herself from shivering lightly, her imagination briefly placing Liara in the role of this theoretical partner. "Ugh, of course I would never do something like that," she said resolutely. "Very well, I do see your point, Rila." They resumed walking again, seeing that Lita had chased ahead in pursuit of one of those small rodent-like mammals that seemed to be scurrying in the undergrowth of literally every garden world, Thessia not being an exception. "You mentioned Morinth, previously," Shepard resumed their conversation as they walked. "Do you still think of her? Her, and Samara?"

"I do think of Morinth now and then," Rila sighed quietly. "Wondering what might have been if it had not been her to first taste the forbidden fruit of a mating meld. She was slightly older than me, so it was always likely that she would have been the first, but... I had also begun going out with an attractive young maiden who was showing keen interest in me. So... it could have been me, Shepard. It could have easily been me, and then it would be Morinth standing before you in my place now."

"A sobering thought indeed," Morgan agreed with a thoughtful nod. "That is what life often is... a simple game of chance."

"Indeed... as for Samara... I do not want to think ill of her, and most of the time, I do not," Rila shrugged. "It is hard for me to blame her, after what happened with Morinth... it must have been terrible for her. We begged her not to send us to the monastery, but she was overcome with fear that we might follow in the same steps as our sister. She did her duty and gave us away to the monastery. Samara did what was expected of her. It should be as simple as that, shouldn't it?"

"But it hurt you," Morgan added quietly, shaking her head with sorrow. "How could it not hurt to have your mother give you away, no matter the reasons?"

"Samara would not trust us when Falere and I claimed that we would be able to resist the urge to meld, which would have led us to become murderers. We were horrified, frightened, appalled from the very thought of becoming like Morinth. Perhaps she was right and we were too young to make a promise like that, perhaps we did not know ourselves and would not have been able to resist entering mind melds without the teachings we received at the monastery," Rila said, her expression turning a little bitter. "But she never gave us a chance. Now, every day we spend living outside the monastery walls, I cannot help but feel that she was wrong to fear that we might fall into darkness. Is a parent not supposed to have trust in their children?"

"They are... and speaking of children, can you see Lita?" Morgan asked, looking around with slight worry, the sprightly asari child having disappeared from her view for the moment. "Lita? Lita! Where are you, little one?"

"BOO!" suddenly a tiny ball of bouncing energy exploded from a roadside bush, landing at their feet and actually managing to startle Rila a little bit.

"Very impressive," Morgan grinned at her daughter. "Now, haven't you had enough running around? You can't expend all your energy right away, sweetie, or you'll never be able to climb up all the way the mountain where we want to go, okay?"

"Hmm… oh, okay," Lita finally agreed after a brief pause spent on pondering the issue. She gave her father a hopeful look, considering something. "Piggyback ride?" the child suggested innocently.

"Oh, fine..." Morgan sighed, unable to refuse Lita in almost anything, even if she knew their daughter was getting a little heavier, enough that carrying her for extended periods of time tended to become a very exhausting exercise.

"One moment..." Lita bit on her tongue as she took off her backpack and swapped the Spectre Blasto magnifying glass for a set of kid's binoculars, and then happily allowed Shepard to pick her up and settle the little asari on her shoulders, resuming walking slowly afterwards.

"Can you see the others, Rila?" Morgan asked after they had walked for a few minutes. "Are they catching up already?"

"I can't see anyone directly behind us," Rila replied, having taken a good look. "Here, let me poke Falere and tell them to hurry up," she added, activating her omni-tool and remaining a little behind to type a quick message as Morgan and Lita continued onwards.

"Daddy?" Lita asked a moment later. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, poppet, what is it?" Shepard replied.

"Does mommy love me more than you do?" Morgan immediately froze from shock at the unexpected question.

"Why... why would you think so, sweetie?" she forced herself to ask calmly, remaining still and shivering a little, unable to walk for the moment.

"Well... she does the thingy when she... let's me look into her head, as mommy calls it," Lita explained.

"When she melds with you, yes," Morgan nodded, still gripped with cold, numbing fear.

"You never do that with me, daddy..." Lita sounded a little disappointed when she spoke. "Is it because you don't love me as much?"

"No, sweetie... you know that I'm a human, not an asari like you and mommy. Humans simply don't know how to do it, poppet," Morgan exclaimed, breathing a small sigh of relief. "Didn't mommy explain that to you?"

"Yeah... she did, but... I thought maybe she just didn't want me to be mad at you... so, you really can't do the mind thingy?" Morgan shook her head in reply, causing Lita's expression to become deeply distraught. "That is so awful... it must be so horrible not being asari!"

"Oh, being a human isn't all that bad, kiddo. Sure, I can't start the mind melding, but I can still experience it as long as a lovely asari like your mommy initiates it," Morgan explained patiently. "Or it could be you, once you're a little older and have learned how to do it."

"Really?" Lita gasped. "I'm going to make mommy teach me NOW!"

"There is no rush, sweetie," Morgan chuckled. "I'll be happy to share my thoughts, memories, experiences... everything with you, but only if you promise not to harass your mommy about teaching how to meld before you are ready for it. Do we have a deal?"

"Yep! It's a deal!" the asari child exclaimed happily, running her hands through her father's hair before leaning down and rubbing her cheek against Morgan's scalp. "I love you daddy..."

Morgan immediately scooped Lita from her shoulders, and hugged her daughter against her chest as fiercely as she could without hurting the child. "I love you too, poppet. I love you so much..." she whispered, feeling close to bawling from happiness.

"I think I can see Liara's white suit between the trees now, Shep-" Rila caught up to them, then noticing that Morgan was hugging Lita tightly, the young Ardat-Yakshi blushing a little from intruding upon their private moment. "Uh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright, Rila," Morgan smiled, continuing to hold the blissful Lita. "No, this is actually more than alright. This is perfect..."

* * *

_New Arc, Arcturus Stream  
_

Two months following the shocking developments on the Citadel and the subsequent change in the seat of the asari councilor, another incident took place, this one mentioned only in passing in the galactic news broadcasts, but still managing to shake the small population of diplomatic and military staff stationed on the New Arc. Following staggering allegations of being involved in a betting ring, suspected of rigging minor league skyball matches, Alliance Minister of Financial Affairs and one of the leading members of Terra Firma, Francesco Rossi committed suicide by spacing himself.

After a week of mourning, the process of reviewing candidates for the vacant post began. A few days later, Katherine Hock received the invitation for an audience with Prime Minister Berezin, which did not come as a surprise to her, even if in public she put on her best charming and surprised expression. She was by now one of the faces of Terra Firma, and had proved herself very competent while working under Rossi, in many parts because of the Shadow Broker intel that allowed her to appear almost prophetic with her always correct decisions. In fact, the diplomatic circles were ripe with chatter that Rossi owed most of his success to Katherine Hock, talk that drove Rossi to extreme lengths of frustration. In many ways, she was the natural successor to Rossi, and thus, her candidature was expected to come up, the only concern being her young age.

And Katherine had left nothing to chance. She badly needed to begin her ascension to the very top, Rossi had been growing increasingly jealous of her, seeking for ways to remove her and it was the perfect time to release the intel Jonathan had gathered on the minister. She had not expected that Rossi would kill himself, needing him to merely step down from his post, but if she was honest, the finality of this outcome suited her much better. And after that, bribes and blackmail of various aides close to Berezin had made sure that the Prime Minister was constantly supplied with praise regarding her work.

Now, sitting at the desk of the Prime Minister himself, facing Berezin when he proudly listed all her achievements so far and finally offered her to take the vacant post of the Minister of Financial Affairs, Katherine Hock felt a deep satisfaction of another step taken towards the very top, even as she forced a demure, feminine smile on her petite lips, blushing at the Prime Minister's praise. _Two more steps remain,_ she kept telling herself. _Berezin first, and then Hackett… but I cannot rush this. I need to lay down a solid foundation. If I get rid of Berezin now, I won't even be considered to become his successor, not yet. I need to prove myself in my new job first, gain as much publicity as I can, solidify my power base and get Terra Firma behind me, while sabotaging my fiercest rivals... yes, it might take a few years, but I will get there in the end. _

"So, miss Hock," the Prime Minister spoke again, interrupting her busy internal plotting. "How does it feel to be the youngest Minister in the history of the Systems Alliance?"

"Please, sir, the Parliament still needs to vote on my candidacy," she replied with a coquettish grin that looked to be making Berezin literally melt before her. "I feel exhilarated by your faith in my abilities, but I do not wish to celebrate just yet." _I wonder what he would say if he knew that I fully intend to become the youngest Prime Minister in the history of the Systems Alliance, too._

"We both know that in this case it is merely a formality," Berezin smiled in reply. "We have a stable majority. It is a done deal. And I must say, I look forward to seeing you in the weekly cabinet meetings, Katherine. Your face will be like a breath of fresh air amongst all those old, dull men surrounding me."

_Ugh, more inappropriate 'compliments', and I just might be tempted to dispose of him before waiting a couple years,_ Katherine Hock winced inwardly, even as she forced another disarming smile on her lips. "It can't be all that dull, sir. For example, I've heard some rumors about the recent budget debates..."

Prime Minister Berezin let out a quiet sigh. "Please... I did not need another reminder that we still have ongoing talks about that," he said, rubbing his forehead, looking a little pained. "I... do not wish to speak ill of the dead, but I hope that perhaps with your involvement, we will finally see some progress in the negotiations."

"I am certain that you will find me far more flexible than my predecessor," Katherine said with a particularly innocent expression on her face, watching Berezin appear suddenly startled as if jolted by a tiny electric shock. _I probably would not even need the help of the Broker to get him eating from my palm... yes, I imagine learning the Prime Minister's secrets would not be all that difficult at all... _

* * *

_2181 Despoina, Sigurd's Cradle_

_'Finally... after all these years, the final component has been acquired... the construction can begin.' _

_'Yes, we see you have succeeded in this task, mighty __Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp. We expected nothing less from you.__' _

_'Is everything in place to begin construction? It is high time for the Leviathan to take to the skies again. Our exoskeletons will enable us to direct the final phase of our rebirth, as we had intended.' _

_'Oh powerful__ Hlunnvr'ogth'lobstrr, our army of thralls has began its work on a hidden planet near the edge of the dark space. But they are nowhere near numerous enough for our needs and the construction will take very long time.__' _

_'While time has been on our side throughout the history, we are no longer content to remain passive. If you lack thralls, mighty __Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp__, simply acquire more. Enslave entire races and civilizations if you must, but see that our return to the skies is not delayed.' _

_'Wise__ Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn, it is clear that these humans are the superior species of this cycle, for from their ranks came the Shepard, Killer of the Reapers. These humans must be made our thralls.__' _

_'It will be done, my brothers. But we need more than thralls. We will need armies, we will need ships... powerful as we are, the three of us cannot control the entire galaxy with the immeasurable power of our minds.' _

_'Then we will turn to the humans again. Their soldiers will become our armies. Their shipyards will produce our vessels of war.' _

_'__Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp__, increase the production of the control orbs. Have our agents swarm around this... Earth, turning as many to our side as they can. I would see this planet fall under our sway quickly. With us leading our human armies, the galaxy will quickly be ours to rule again.' _

_'And what of the Shepard, oh wise __Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn__? Is the human no longer a concern to us?' _

_'We have been monitoring her activities through this... Riley. That one is a very resourceful organic and has provided us with invaluable information on the Shepard.'_

_'And this information has left us unimpressed. We believe that we have overestimated the Shepard. She defeated the Reapers. She was clearly the dominant organic of this cycle.' _

_'She should have seized control, united the weaker races and assumed lordship over the galaxy, as it befits the strongest.' _

_'Instead, she has covered in inactivity and spent her days in pursuit of meaningless, fleeting fancies, displaying no ambition to seize what she was rightfully entitled to.' _

_'So, as you can see, mighty __Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp__, we will not fear the Shepard.' _

_'I agree with the wise__ Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn.__ We must take to the sky once again and lead our human armies in a battle that sweeps across the galaxy and bends the lesser organics to our feet, where is their proper place.'_

_'Then it shall be done as you say, powerful__ Hlunnvr'ogth'lobstrr__. Thus begins the rise of the Leviathan...'_


	28. Future For The Krogan

_A/N: A Shepard-less chapter? What is this insanity? :) Also, make note of the two year time skip since the last chapter. _

**Chapter 28 – Future For The Krogan**

_Year 2198 CE  
Tuchanka, Restoration Zone AC-13Y_

"I don't know what you're planning to show us, Wrex, but it better be something impressive," Forsan Hort, chief of the Clan Forsan muttered suspiciously, the leaders of Raik and Gatatog clans nodding along with Hort, all three stuffed tightly into a tomkah together with Wrex, the vehicle speeding away from the Urdnot Clan grounds.

"Oh, it's plenty impressive," Wrex chuckled smugly. As was always the case during such meetings with the other chiefs, things could get a little tense, everyone still suspecting each other, expecting the hidden dagger in the dark. At least it did not seem as if they honestly believed that Wrex would try anything while they were still in the tomkah, but the Gatatog chief was clearly wary of being led into a trap and Wrex could not truly blame the other krogan, aware of the bloody past between their clans.

"He's planning something," the Gatatog clan leader turned his beady red eyes in a glare directed at Wrex. "We shouldn't have agreed to let Wrex just lead us out here blindly!"

"Don't flatter yourself, Gatatog Kozun," Wrex said dismissively. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have already done so without bothering to drive you all the way out here. Now shut your yap and sit tight, because you're about to see something that you could have never even dreamed to see on Tuchanka."

"And what's that?" Kozun challenged, undeterred.

"How far, Shurik?" instead Wrex asked the young krogan in charge of steering the tomkah, receiving a swift reply informing him about their impending arrival, and moments later the tomkah ground to a screeching halt. "Very well, fellow clan chiefs... you are the first ones aside from my clan who will be able to witness this... here, I give you the future of Tuchanka!"

As Wrex spoke, the tomkah's passenger compartment doors began to open, the clan chiefs leaping out one by one to follow the Urdnot leader outside of the vehicle. "What... is this?" the Raik leader, Erkni, grunted in surprise.

"Explain, Wrex... are we even still on Tuchanka?" Forsan Hort demanded, struggling to believe the sight before his eyes.

"We must be, I can see the old temple and the City of the Ancients," Gatatog Kozun pointed in the other direction, before turning back to observe the sight before their eyes, unable to quite comprehend what he was seeing.

Before them lay a small strip of land, no more than five hundred yards across and two miles wide, which had undergone mind-boggling changes over the course of the past two years. Unlike the rest of the Tuchanka, this strip of land had somehow become green, covered with rough, tall grass, thorny bushes and cacti of different shapes and sizes, some of them blooming in white and red blossoms. Tree saplings were stretching from the ground, trying to compete with the cacti and being largely successful.

Raik Erkni fell on his knees and bent down so that his nose was on the same level with the grass, taking a mighty sniff and then letting out a few squeaky sounding sneezes, his tiny eyes beginning to water. "I recognize this scent..." the large krogan looked overwhelmed. "The grass of Tuchanka, as I last smelled it as a small pup! Wrex, how did you accomplish this?"

Forsan Hort was taking big gulps of the strange and unusually fresh air, as if trying to get himself drunk on it. "This is almost better than ryncol!" he exclaimed with gusto, hastily taking more and more breaths, as if fearing that the enriched air might evaporate in the planet's atmosphere.

"Look at that..." Gatatog Kozun pointed further in the distance, having spotted a massive animal moving about, array of spikes along its spine and tail. It looked as if one of the nearby wandering varren was feeling brave, trying to sneak up on the massive creature while it was grazing on a cactus, but just as the varren made his jump, it's roughly fifteen times larger 'prey' swung its spiky tail, catching the varren in the side and throwing it thirty yards through the air and into a spiky bush, where the warren remained, whining as it's broken body slowly bled out. "That's a kakliosaur, isn't it? But they're extinct! What gives, Wrex?"

"I just got bored of all the sand and rubble, figured we have earned something a little better," Wrex grinned, then turning more serious. "I understand that you have questions. Answers will be provided." He pointed a little to the left, where a group of three had appeared, approaching from the rapidly expanding green growth, walking towards Wrex and the other clan chiefs. "There comes someone who will be able to explain just what we are doing here."

"Isn't that Grunt and his female?" Kozun peered at those approaching, spotting Grunt and Kurin.

"Sure looks that way," Hort nodded. "And… they have captured a geth!"

"Excellent!" Erkni cheered. "It has been a while since I've shot one of those synthetic freaks!"

Wrex swiftly stepped up to his fellow chief and painfully head-butted Erkni across the brow. "There will be no shooting of the geth... much as those creepy little buggers annoy me, they are here as our guests. In fact... the geth are responsible for what you see before your eyes."

"What?" Kozun blinked. "Have you gone mad, inviting the geth on Tuchanka and giving them free reign to mess around with our planet?"

"They don't have a free reign, Kozun, and have you been living under a rock for the past twelve years?" Wrex growled dangerously, facing the Gatatog chief. "No, don't answer that, because I know that you **have** been living under a rock... so allow me to explain. The geth are advisors on the same Galactic Council where we hold a seat. We're supposed to be allies these days."

Forsan Hort shook his head disapprovingly. "Still don't like it..." he muttered. "They just... smell wrong..."

"They smell better than your repugnant body odor, Hort," Wrex glared at the other clan leader. "And before you say any more, I want you to know that this entire project was Shepard's idea."

"Shepard's idea?" Erkni grunted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Well... that is surprising. We trust Shepard, but why would she want us to work with the geth?"

"She wanted to see Tuchanka restored," Wrex explained as Grunt, Kurin and the geth had almost reached them by now. "And Shepard said that only the geth can do it in a reasonable amount of time. The geth listen to Shepard, her word is their command. She has ordered them to help us, and they will not disobey her."

"Yes, disobeying the Shepard is most unwise," Hort nodded, remembering some of his diplomatic _talks_ with the small but energetic and pleasantly violent Hero of the Krogan. "I suppose there is a... merit to Shepard's idea."

"I don't know," Kozun shrugged. "I still want to hear what the geth has to say for itself before I make up my mind about this..."

"Well, you're about to get your answers, because this particular geth is very interesting and also annoyingly talkative," Wrex chuckled, nodding to Grunt and Kurin as they stood next to him, then pointing at the synthetic standing between them and looking positively tiny when surrounded by all the krogan. "Let me introduce Legion, the geth who fought alongside Shepard when she took the fight to the Collectors. This little bugger served on the Normandy when they went through the Omega-4 relay to destroy the Collector base."

"Hmm, if Shepard trusted this geth so much to include it on her legendary team of specialists..." Raik Erkni looked ponderous, the other two chiefs nodding along slowly. "We are tentatively impressed!" he then exclaimed, pointing a stubbly finger at Legion, the geth passively observing the krogan antics. "You! Explain what is it that you are attempting here!"

"Shepard-Commander first turned to us with the plan of Tuchanka planetary restoration two years, three months and seventeen days ago," Legion replied in its metallic, chirpy voice, the krogan exchanging curious glances, not having heard a geth speak before. "It took the geth one minute and twenty-two seconds to reach consensus that aiding in this project would be beneficial to stabilizing the galactic peace."

"What's it saying?" Hort scratched his chin, puzzled.

"I think it's saying that Shepard asked them to come here and they agreed," Kozun spoke thoughtfully.

"Silly machine should just speak plainly," Erkni grunted, giving Legion an evil glare.

"Before you is a testing ground, where we are experimenting with the way different plant and animal specimens react when exposed to these controlled conditions, and to each other," Legion continued its explanation, doing its best to keep it as simple as it could for the benefit of the krogan chiefs. "The majority of the specimens are being brought in from the krogan seized garden worlds in Kite's Nest. The conditions on Khar'shan, Erszbat, Adek and Camala are similar to the historical data of Tuchanka before the nuclear winter."

"Hmm, that makes sense," Kozun nodded, looking approving, making Wrex exchange a slightly relieved look with Grunt and Kurin, having previously feared that the Gatatog chief might be impossible to convince.

"Looks like that varren reacted poorly to your 'controlled conditions'," Hort laughed, pointing at the now dead varren, hanging from the thorny bush. A small black bird had already perched down on its muzzle and was busy pecking out the varren's eye, while a fuzzy long-tailed creature had scaled the lover branches of the bush and was now tearing out pieces of varren meat from the dead creatures soft underbelly.

"But wait, kakliosaurs are not from Kite's Nest!" Erkni exclaimed. "In fact, I'm sure they all died out."

"This is correct," Legion nodded. "We have been gathering DNA samples of various extinct specimens from Tuchankan fauna and flora. While kakliosaurs are not originally from Tuchanka, their importance in krogan culture and society made them an obvious selection for this project. They are only one of several hundreds of different test subjects being cloned at the facilities on Sur'Kesh."

"Sur'Kesh?" Hort grunted angrily. "Haven't the salarians helped enough already?"

"No, Hort, and that's exactly the point, they haven't done enough to make amends," Wrex replied. "Sure, we could always bomb a few salarian worlds and we would feel better for a little while, but then what? We'd still come back to this barren old rock, and drag out pathetic existence fighting each other amongst the rubble. But if together with the geth they really can help make Tuchanka alive again? Well... for me, that would go some way to remedy the insult of the genophage."

"Hmm… Wrex actually has a point," Kozun grudgingly admitted. "But why show us this little strip of green land, Wrex? Are you offering to share? What's your game?"

"I said that the plan included restoration of the entire planet, which also includes your territories," Wrex shrugged. "I'm not forcing you into accepting. But you would be seriously stupid to refuse."

"That depends on what you want in return," Erkni challenged, giving Wrex a firm stare.

"My demands are very simple and easy to comply with," Wrex casually returned the stare. "First, don't be bloody idiots. Second, do not ever challenge my rule over Tuchanka. Third, promise to protect the geth when they arrive to work at your clan grounds."

"And that's it?" Kozun asked, a little disbelieving. Wrex simply shrugged his shoulders and nodded again. "Well... this is very unexpected... I might need to think on this..."

"How long is the project supposed to take?" Hort gave Legion another piercing stare. "Has to take a while even for the geth!"

"We have estimated that it will require us 775 galactic years for the restoration project to cover the entire planet," Legion happily elaborated.

"775 years... well, I might not see the entire planet being green again, but my children surely will!" Erkni exclaimed, looking as if he had made a decision. "Alright, Wrex! The Raik are in! We'll do as you say!"

"The Forsan are in as well!" Hort proudly declared, not wanting to miss out on something that the other clans would receive, especially considering that he was not even asked to surrender much in return.

Kozun growled, angrily glaring at the other clan chiefs whose passionate declarations had forced his hand, knowing that his clan could not afford to stand aside all by themselves. "Fine, Wrex... the Gatatog will join you on this venture as well... on one condition."

"Speak, Kozun," Wrex urged the other krogan impatiently.

"Umm..." Kozun pointed at the kakliosaur wandering around lazily in the distance. "Has it been broken in already?"

"It has not been broken in, Gatatog Kozun," Legion explained helpfully.

"Well... if I can have a go at it, then you'll have the alliance of Clan Gatatog for the centuries to come," Kozun said, staring at the kakliosaur with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Hey... if he can try to tackle the kakliosaur, I want in on that as well!" Hort protested.

"Yeah, me too, let me at it!" Erkni roared.

"Certainly," Legion nodded approvingly. "But we should warn you that-" there the geth was interrupted rudely as the three excited krogan barged past him and charged towards the kakliosaur, roaring excitedly.

"Ha! I can't believe it would work, but you were right, old man," Grunt laughed, looking at the three krogan bounding towards their target.

"Yeah, I figured that the kakliosaur would distract them," Wrex said, watching Raik Erkni charging his prey, the large animal almost looking bored as it stuck out its leg and kicked the krogan aside, the kakliosaur possessing remarkable agility for its size. "Though it does look like a lot of fun…"

"Sure does," Grunt nodded. "Want to go show those guys how it's done?"

"Absolutely!" Wrex roared. "Let's go!" And then they both charged ahead across the lush field towards where the kakliosaur now seemed to be thoroughly enjoying tossing the excitedly roaring krogan chiefs back and forth.

Legion and Kurin simply remained standing by the tomkah, mutely watching the proceedings. "We trust you have brought adequate supplies of medi-gel?" Legion asked eventually.

"Yes," Kurin replied simply, grin forming on her lips as she saw Grunt finally managing to climb on the kakliosaur's back... and remaining there for all but three seconds, getting violently shaken off. "Yes, I have. And I believe that we will require the entire crate..."

* * *

_The Citadel, Serpent Nebula_

"How are you?" Miranda asked, having hugged her old friend before they both sat down at a table in 'The Winking Batarian', a small, sleazy and consequentially almost nearly empty establishment near the bottom of the Bachjret Ward.

"Fine, I guess?" Kasumi shrugged, her face remaining cautiously impassive as her eyes quickly scanned the establishment, nodding in satisfaction when she detected no threats. "This isn't going to be one of those tedious talks where you try to subtly push me towards seeking a new relationship, is it? I still think that's pretty rich coming from you, miss solitary badass."

"Hey, you're the one who's used to being in a relationship," Miranda raised her hands defensively. "I'm perfectly fine being all alone by myself. I just... well, need to know that you're alright, Kasumi."

"Aww, you know I appreciate it, but I'll be fine, Miri," Kasumi grinned, gently patting Miranda's hand. "Work is keeping me pretty busy, as well. You know that my previous relationship worked out only because Bau was a Spectre too, it would have been too hard to manage otherwise. And it's not like I've gone through the profiles of all the currently employed Spectres, searching for someone who might make a good boyfriend material."

"Uh huh, I'm sure you haven't," Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Indeed, what do you take me for?" Kasumi huffed, but her mirthful eyes told a different story. "Half of them being asari sure cuts down the playing field, too," she added quietly, making Miranda chuckle.

"So, how is the work, Kasumi?" the ex-Cerberus operative asked. "Humor a fellow Spectre and share some juicy gossip, hmm? Still involved in that whole Shadow Broker controversy?"

"Yeah," Kasumi nodded. "It's a strange case, that's for sure. I trust Liara and Shep when they say that the old Broker has been replaced, even if they haven't been stirring trouble anymore like two years ago with the asari."

"I see that the asari have began to repopulate the station again after that little near-exile," Miranda remarked. "I guess that things have calmed down over the past few years."

"Thankfully. I've been spending a lot of time wondering just what the Broker wanted to achieve with that bout of craziness. They got Councilor Tevos replaced with Irissa, but she has more or less continued to hold the same line as Tevos. They got the asari to pay huge reparations to turians and humans, and that set their economy back quite noticeably, but other than that... it felt more like personal vendetta against the asari. But I'm also hearing that the Broker lost some good agents because of this, mostly asari who were perplexed with the sudden change in the operations."

"I'm not surprised, it was a very strange MO for the Shadow Broker," Miranda agreed. "But we have already discussed this before. And now they've gone silent again, you say?"

"Back to the standard Broker operations," Kasumi started to speak, then falling silent for a moment as an elcor waiter shuffled up to them to ask whether they wanted anything, receiving orders for two cups of coffee. "It's like that entire episode had been a momentarily lapse of sanity," she added as the elcor slowly wandered off to retrieve their likely disgusting coffee. "But there's more to it, or else I would have probably abandoned my investigations long time ago."

"What do you mean?" Miranda gave her friend a worried stare.

"Well... I've spent some time watching several of the Broker agents here on the Citadel," Kasumi began to explain. "As soon as they became aware of being watched... they began to act very oddly."

"Oddly in what way?"

"You'd expect them to disappear and try to cover their tracks once someone started poking into their activities, right?" Kasumi asked, Miranda giving a quick nod of the head. "But they never did that, they continued with whatever they had been doing. More strangely, they became even sloppier and started to leave behind more and more obvious tracks."

"Hmm, I would say that they are trying to string you along for some reason," Miranda said, rubbing her brow thoughtfully. "These tracks, they tend to lead somewhere?"

"Into too obvious traps, I think," Kasumi grumbled. "It's like they're trying to lure me, but the bait they are laying down is just too obvious. Again, this is a strange MO for them. If they know that I'm watching them, and they must know that, why not just order a hit? Sure, it's as likely to succeed as is luring me into one of their traps. But we've been dancing around each other like this for over a year and I think that at some point I'll just have to spring one of those traps if I want to learn more."

"That could be dangerous," Miranda warned, looking a little worried. "You should bring someone along as a backup. Preferably me."

"Nah, Miri, that would just scare them off for good, they're not completely incompetent, you know," Kasumi smiled, feeling touched by her friend's concern. "Besides, there's literally no way they could succeed in outsmarting me, you should have more trust in your old friend, really."

"Oh, but I do have trust in your abilities, Kasumi," Miranda smiled, then falling silent again as the elcor approached anew and dropped a tray with two foul smelling mugs on their table, grumbling as it shuffled off. "I meant to ask, have you been assigned to this task by one of the councilors?" Miranda asked, not daring to touch the 'coffee' and Kasumi agreeing with that sentiment.

"Nope, I'm with Shep and Liara on this one. It's better that all the governments don't know about this change at the head of the Shadow Broker network, if it indeed has happened. It could cause a lot of instability in certain circles. So I'm just conducting this investigation during what little spare time I have. I'm now primarily assigned to Hackett and he doesn't usually have all that much for me to do. Heck, my last job was to find the miscreant who stole the purse of Councilor Ngagong's favorite asari mistress. At least it resulted in a really fun skycar chase across all four wards!"

"Yes, I believe I saw something about that on the Galactic News terminals," Miranda rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Anyway, enough about me, Miri, how are your own investigations going? What's the situation on Earth?" Kasumi asked then, giving her friend a sympathetic pat on the hand after seeing how Miranda winced immediately.

"You've seen the vids yourself, I'm sure," the raven-haired scientist scowled. "Most of the planet looks like Tuchanka now, and there are not many serious restoration attempts being launched. Those who try, usually end up with too little support, give up frustrated and move to the colonies, Eden Prime or Horizon."

"Typical, after we fought so hard for Earth during the Great War," Kasumi snorted.

"I'm mostly spending my time on New Arc these days, watching the political situation there, observing all the backstabbing and making reports to Hackett so that he knows what sort of interesting 'surprises' to expect from the Parliament," Miranda sighed. "It's a challenge to keep up with all the plots, maintain an eye over what's happening back in Sol, as well as attending to some little research projects on the side. And I think I might actually need to start spending more time back on Earth... or some of our Sol bases, anyway."

"Something stirring?" Kasumi asked worriedly.

"You could say that. I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but some of the branches in our military are acting a little odd. I'm getting stonewalled here and there, people getting evasive or dropping out of contact as soon as I start to push."

"Hey, they can't stonewall a Spectre, you have every right to walk in wherever you please! One of the top perks of the job if you ask me," Kasumi added with a grin.

"Yeah, but it has also made me a bit too recognizable. It's pointless to walk in wherever I please, if they see me coming a mile away and just hide anything that might be incriminating," Miranda sighed. "Anyway, I don't have anything solid just yet, but I do know that someone high in the Alliance might be hatching some plans that they're not sharing with people they should be sharing it with."

"Keep digging, but just be careful, Miri. You're the best, but even you can't take on the entire Alliance military, okay?" Kasumi gave her friend a concerned look.

"I think that they are building some kind of new weapons system or something that might be considered controversial in the Council space," Miranda mused aloud. "It has to be something like that. I learned that they have upped the eezo quotas from the colony worlds, why would they suddenly need twice as much eezo?"

"Weird," Kasumi shrugged. "Who gave the order?"

"It came from the very top of the Alliance military, Rear Admiral McIllis. And the order was ratified by the relevant committee on New Arc," Miranda replied, looking rarely uncertain. "Anyway, Oriana wrote to me that these new regulations are making a lot of folks out in the Traverse very unhappy with the Alliance. Separatist hotheads are once again suggesting a split."

"Ugh, just what humanity needs... how is Oriana, by the way?" Kasumi asked.

Miranda's face darkened just minutely, the woman knitting her lips tightly before finally replying. "Fine, I suppose. She is still based in Discovery, working at the governor's office as a head of both science and health departments."

"That sounds great, but... you're not happy for her?"

Miranda let out a deep and unhappy sigh. "I... don't know what to think. Ever since Ori hooked up with that hussy commando leader of House T'Soni, she's been like crazy about the asari. Literally every few months she brings home another new blue slattern. It's just... I didn't expect this from someone like her!"

"Miri... I don't even know Ori all that well, but I think there's more than your sister just discovering some kind of promiscuous streak," Kasumi shook her head. "I... need to ask you something personal, Miranda."

"Since when have you asked for permission about that?" Miranda snorted, slightly amused.

"Does Oriana share the same... problem than you? You know, because of the whole being cloned thing?" Kasumi asked, deep sadness reflecting in her eyes, sympathy for her friend who had been denied a chance to bring new life into this world.

"Yes," Miranda ground out, not raising her eyes from the surface of the table.

"Have you considered that... well, an asari partner... would get rid of that problem?" Kasumi suggested, Miranda raising her head and giving the ex-thief a completely stunned and surprised stare. "Perhaps that is what she is looking for? Searching for a suitable asari partner to have a child with?"

"I... no, I... had not considered that," Miranda confessed, suddenly looking deeply embarrassed. "Ah, damn it... that must be it, Kasumi... I would have expected her to tell me, though! Maybe... maybe she felt a little ashamed or something? I think... I could accept this explanation much better. I will try to broach the topic with her when we next meet... thanks, Kasumi. You're a real friend."

"Well, I try my best," Kasumi winked at her. "By the way, Miri... you know, you could find a nice asari lady for yourself... I even promise to mind your beautiful blue babies when you two want to go for a night out or just have a little sexy romp at the back of the skycar..."

"...one more word about me getting involved with an asari, and I'm going to have to shoot you, friend or no," Miranda growled.

"What? Why?" Kasumi broke out in a wide, innocent grin. "What did I say?"


	29. Trouble On Horizon

_A/N: Briefly introducing another asari OC. Or at least mentioning her, but I thought this story could do with more Spectres. Especially asari Spectres! _

**Chapter 29 – Trouble On Horizon **

_Year 2198 CE  
Discovery, Capital of Horizon_

_Whoa, I had no idea it was so late already, _Oriana Lawson thought, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked away from her computer terminal, her gaze falling on the wall chrono, the blinking digits informing her that it was currently quarter to eight on the Friday evening, most of the staff having departed almost three hours earlier. _Thankfully, I'm almost done with this,_ she let out a breath of relief, looking down at the report she had been compiling for the past few hours.

Following the Reaper War and considering the state that Earth was in, the Terminus colonies had banded together and agreed to help out the cradle of humanity in restoration to its former glory, and for the next ten years had sent generous shares of the colonial riches back to Sol System. Oriana had expected that as Earth slowly got back up to its feet, in time the Alliance would require less and less aid, however, it seemed as for some reason the very opposite was becoming true. Whether it was the good old human greed at play here, or some more sinister motives, Oriana could only guess, but for some reason the Systems Alliance demanded ever increasing quotas of various resources without offering any explanations, only citing that it was classified information.

Oriana had just outlined a plan on how to comply with the new eezo quotas requested by the Alliance, unable to stop herself from inserting some strongly worded sentiments about the unreasonable demands, even if she knew that her protests would not amount to much. Everything about these new quotas seemed somehow off, and the fact that the point of delivery was actually given as Mars instead of Earth was even more suspicious. She had asked Miranda to look into these developments, mentioning the Mars link, to which Miri had replied that the Alliance had established four new facilities on Mars during the past few years, or at least they were the ones that Miranda knew about, and gaining entry had so far proven very difficult even for a Spectre.

Having put up the last finishing touches on her report, Oriana rose from the table and stretched, wincing, unaware of how stiff her back had become from all the hours of sitting in a slightly hunched position. She retrieved her purse and the purple scarf, a gift from Miranda on her last birthday, picked up the datapad containing her report and stepped out of the office, the lights dying down and the room sinking into darkness as she left. The corridors of the relatively small four storied administrative center of Discovery were empty as she had expected, her colleagues no doubt already hitting the downtown pubs or engaging various different forms of entertainment on a much anticipated start of yet another weekend. _No wonder I keep getting dumped all the time, nobody really wants a girlfriend that's married to her work the way I am,_ she thought, a little bitterly.

Oriana quickly entered the main offices, depositing her datapad with the other reports meant for Governor Erikson to peruse when he returned to work at the beginning of the next week. She was about to swiftly turn around and leave again, when she realized that she was not alone in the room, the realization startling her as she jumped with an embarrassing tiny squeak. "Gods... I thought I was all alone in here," she confessed, looking at her fellow workaholic, noticing that the woman behind the desk in front of her quickly put away something that looked like a handkerchief, turning a little away from Oriana, unwilling to face her and giving the distinct impression that she had been crying. "Uh... working late as well?" she asked uncomfortably, deciding that bolting for the door now would be far too rude.

"Yes... yes, I... had a report to finish," the other woman finally gathered her bearings, replying in a slightly hoarse voice. Oriana knew her fairly well, of course, having sat next to Samantha Traynor through dozens and dozens of meetings of the heads of different departments over the past year. Working mainly as Erikson's aide, Traynor was responsible for several special projects, one of them being the settlement and expansion of the Horizon colony, and as such, their spheres of influence occasionally crossed, resulting in an increased familiarity between the two.

"I know how that is, got delayed by the same thing," Oriana said, smiling encouragingly and Samantha tried to return the smile, but in truth she still looked rather depressed, making it more difficult for Oriana to simply abandon the other woman. "Well... just don't sit here too long, okay? It's already getting very late."

"I won't, I'm... almost done," Traynor replied quietly. "Just having some problems with the new emigration policies issued by the Systems Alliance."

"Oh? What about those?" Oriana asked, partly curious herself, partly hoping that talking about these problems would distract the other woman from her gloominess.

"They have drastically increased paperwork for anyone who wants to leave Sol permanently with the intent to settle on the colony worlds," Traynor said, her sadness quickly replaced by annoyance and anger. "I suppose I can understand that, it's getting more and more difficult to keep people wanting to stay on Earth, because the planetary restoration is stagnating and living conditions remain very poor. But this isn't the way to do it. They should take steps to make people want to stay there, motivate them to remain and help, not just... well, it's like keeping them there in diplomatic chains!"

"There's something very odd going on with the Alliance leadership," Oriana said, feeling a little worried by these revelations together with what she already knew.

"Yes, and we need a steady influx of new settlers to push ahead with our plans of settlement," Samantha nodded. "What's even worse, they are pressuring the governor into starting advertisement campaigns to encourage more people to return back to Earth! I won't stand for that, I just won't..."

"I don't think many would fall for that, I mean, they know what the situation on Earth is like and would recognize flowery promises for the deception that it is," Oriana said, shaking her head angrily. "But it feels almost as if Earth is..." _Trying to gear up for a war?_ She thought at herself, deciding not to voice this concern aloud, not truly believing that it could be the case. "Oh, never mind, I was just thinking aloud," she quickly added, noticing Samantha looking at her curiously.

"Alright," the other woman managed a small smile. "Well, I... better get back to the report," she said reluctantly. "Won't take me more than fifteen minutes, I think."

Oriana hesitated. She rather liked Samantha Traynor, and the professional relationship they had developed. The woman was supremely competent in everything she attempted, possessed a very wide skill-set and was something of an overachiever and perfectionist, but Oriana saw those traits only as something positive, knowing that she was much the same, slave to the desperate urge to always perform every task as best as she could. In a way, in Samantha she felt something akin to a kindred spirit and she did not want to abandon Traynor when she clearly was bothered by something. "Is… everything alright?" she asked, a little cautiously, not wanting to embarrass Samantha. "I mean... I'm not actually in a hurry..."

"Yes, I'm fine-... oh," now it was Samantha's turn to freeze as she realized what Oriana was offering. "I, um... well... I just got a message on my omni from my girlfriend, few minutes before you came in. Apparently, I just got ditched..." she confessed with a depressed sounding sigh.

"Oh... I'm so sorry, Samantha," Oriana's face fell. There had been rumors about Traynor being involved with someone who was a bit of a loose cannon and a powerful biotic to boot, but Oriana was not one for gossip. Still, while working in a large office such as this, it sometimes became impossible not to overhear things.

"Well... I suppose it was inevitable," Samantha sniffed. "I'm actually surprised it lasted as long as it did. Jack was never going to be one for the idle life on Horizon, and after six years I suppose it was inevitable that she would have had enough. She began taking the odd jobs throughout Traverse, I imagine not always legal, showing up on Horizon now and then to... rekindle our relationship. But she never stayed long, and I... guess I knew the writing was on the wall. The message I got just now simply made it official."

"That's tough," Oriana sighed, now taking a seat at Traynor's desk. "You know, it's interesting... I got stood up myself a few days ago. Though I guess it was a bit of my own fault," she confessed, blushing a little, aware that her interest in dating asari was well discussed throughout the office, not that she cared or anything.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Samantha gave her a sympathetic stare. "What happened?"

"Solania is a sweet girl, really, but she had been growing very frustrated about me always staying so long after work hours. Let's just say that she felt like I wasn't paying her enough attention, so..."

"Yeah, I've heard how energetic those asari maidens are, they demand a lot of attention," Samantha chuckled, making Oriana's blush deepen even more.

"Yes, umm, that is true," she bashfully admitted. "But well, it didn't help that I was over thirty minutes late for our restaurant date couple of days ago. When I finally arrived, she was long gone and the waiter brought me a note from her, basically telling me that it was all over and not to contact her for the next century or until I die, whichever happens first."

"Ouch," Samantha winced. "Sounds like she was seriously angry."

"Well, I sort of deserved it," Oriana sighed. "Managing a relationship is a real hard task for workaholics like us."

"I'll say..." Traynor nodded, then grinning as she thought of something. "Hey... I just had an idea. Since we both have been freshly dumped, how about we crack open a bottle of brandy and… well, I don't know, celebrate our freedom and newfound possibilities, or well, whatever the reason, just to make us feel better about ourselves?"

"Hmm," Oriana mused thoughtfully. She had very limited experience with alcohol, even a glass of wine at the restaurant made her tipsy, but she didn't want to disappoint Samantha. "Well, alright... where do you want to go?"

"Go? We don't need to go anywhere," Traynor grinned, picking up a passkey from a drawer of her desk. "This gets us entry into Erikson's office, and to his drinks cabinet... it's literally bursting, so he won't notice a bottle missing, I'm sure!"

Oriana blinked, then barely managing to keep herself from bursting into a fit of giggles, enjoying the feeling of thrill at this tiny misdeed that Samantha was contemplating. "Alright!" she agreed with a vehement nod of the head. "Let's go and plunder the governor's rum!"

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

"Well, I guess that about covers everything I had to tell you, Shepard," said a young asari huntress, rising from the table in a small open-air restaurant located on a small island of a river stretching through the largest of Armali's parks. It was an early morning, and the restaurant would not begin to serve food for several hours at least, which meant that Shepard and her fellow Spectre contact could hold their bi-weekly meeting without any interruptions.

"Sure thing, Yannika," Shepard smiled at the asari. "I'll see you again in two weeks. Take care." Just like Tevos, Irissa preferred her Spectres to exchange less critical, but still sensitive intel directly, which Shepard acknowledged as being a wise decision, especially with all the Shadow Broker attention upon the asari dealings in particular. It also promoted camaraderie between the Spectres, which Irissa believed would be beneficial should they ever need to team up to complete an objective. Still, Morgan suspected that the temporary asari councilor had a rather strange sense of humor, considering that the asari Spectre acting as her liaison between Thessia and the Council was called Yannika Vasir.

"Thank you, Shepard. Good fortune to you and your family," Yannika replied with just a hint of a smile and left the restaurant, heading directly for her skycar as Morgan remained a little behind, deciding to combine her way back to the T'Soni Estate with a light jog. Of course, at first she had been slightly concerned about working together with the younger sister of one Tela Vasir, considering that the young asari knew exactly what had happened between Shepard and her older sister. But while acting stiff and cold towards her at first, Yannika had eventually grown to become a lot more pleasant towards her, especially after the two of them had an open talk about just what had happened with Tela. Shepard hadn't even wanted to kill the older Vasir, and she had offered to heal her injuries after their fight at the top of the Azure Hotel, only to have her offer rejected, the proud Spectre preferring death to mercy by what she considered to be her enemy.

As Shepard settled into a slow, leisurely pace of her jog, simply enjoying the beautiful sights of the park everywhere she turned to look, she kept thinking back to her conversation with Yannika, in a way feeling relieved that the young Spectre hadn't had much to report to her. After the turmoil of the past few years, Feron's murder and the new Shadow Broker seemingly having some kind of insane grudge against the asari, no news meant good news for Shepard and her family.

After Tevos had stepped down from the councilor's post, at least for the time being the worst of the black PR against the asari had ceased. It was possible that the Broker had simply ran out of worthwhile ammunition to use, and to Irissa's credit she had kept her dealings extremely transparent in order not to give their detractors anything else to use against the asari. Still, a lot of the damage had been done already, first of all in the shift of public opinion towards the asari, many of them choosing to leave the Citadel and other multi-cultural centers of civilization, as they were often made feel unwelcome by the rest of the population. Waves of dismissals from multi-racial corporations also hit thousands and thousands of asari employees across the galaxy, forcing them to flood back to asari dominated worlds.

Secondly, the Republics had taken a significant economical blowback due to these disasters caused by the Shadow Broker. The reparations paid to the humans and turians put a serious strain on the budget, many asari leaving the Citadel and returning to homeworlds sent the unemployment rates spiraling out of control and reduced the income from taxes. And lastly, while the salarians certainly were not as hypocritical as to blame the asari for their actions regarding the Prothean beacon on Thessia, they felt forced to follow the public opinion and scorn their ancient allies, at least temporary turning their backs on Thessia. As a result, the asari lost out on lucrative deep space exploration missions and Rim colony contracts, which now the Sur'Kesh representatives offered to both quarians and turians.

In the past half-year, however, Irissa's work, guided by Tevos' considerable and wise advice from the shadows, was slowly starting to change things. The public opinion gradually became less negative towards the asari, and many of those who had fled the Citadel were now considering a possible return, no longer having to fear for their safety. This was where Aria now began to make her move, using the massive resources she had hoarded ever since retaking Omega. Her media network spun pro-asari propaganda at every opportunity, doing so highly effectively, playing in particular upon certain prejudices regarding the asari, such as their fabled promiscuity. While Liara could not help being a little mad at Aria for choosing this approach, even Morgan's bondmate could not deny the effectiveness of Aria's methods.

Morgan also suspected that some of Aria's financial resources had been used to stabilize the Asari Republics from plunging into bankruptcy. This, combined with most of the influential matriarchs knowingly or less knowingly ending up with owning a share in one or the other business owned by the Queen of Omega, put the asari leaders firmly into Aria's pocket, exactly as she had envisioned her eventual intentions a decade ago, when she had put her plans into motion. Of course, she had initially thought that the process might take seven or eight decades, but this Shadow Broker interference had played right into her hands. Still, her bondmate had suffered badly as a result of this interference, and it meant that the Broker was now at the very top of Aria's hit list.

There was still the matter of ongoing investigations into the matriarchs who had known about the beacon, and into the extent of Tevos' involvement. Irissa was proving to be very masterful at time-wasting, and Morgan suspected that the case was destined to simply fall through the cracks and eventually fade into obscurity, especially considering that the short attention span of the non-asari part of the galaxy had seemingly already forgotten that such an investigation was still ongoing. At some point, however, Irissa had to come up with some sort of result, because Tevos needed her name cleared if she still wanted to return to her position as a councilor. And while Tevos herself kept firmly insisting that she trusted Irissa, Morgan sometimes privately wondered just how motivated the temporary councilor of the asari was in clearing her predecessor who would subsequently then put her out of the office.

News coming in from the rest of the galaxy suggested that the dust was slowly beginning to settle everywhere, even if now and then some spots of trouble tended to emerge. Unexpectedly, the turians had been to blame for the latest string of complications. The rebuilding of Palaven was taking too much time and resources, even with the aid of the geth, and many amongst the higher ranks of the Hierarchy began to seriously consider leaving large parts of the planet remaining as it were, a desolate wasteland, a grim monument to the legacy of the Reapers. After all, the beautiful garden world of Digeris, largely untouched by the Reapers and suited for dextro-based life, lay in the neighboring system, and after many difficult deliberations, Primarch Victus finally came forth with the decision to begin relocating part of Palaven's population to Digeris, with the intent to eventually move the seat of the government there as well.

This decision was not received with great enthusiasm by a large part of the population, particularly those who had spent the entirety of the war fighting either on Palaven or Menae, now feeling their efforts diminished by the decision to partially abandon their homeworld. One of the leaders of this opposition was Garrus' father, and Victus tried to use his friendship with Garrus in order to build bridges, but the elder Vakarian was far too stubborn to listen to anyone over this, and the net result of these peace negotiations was a flat zero. Garrus had been feeling glum and depressed about being unable to convince his father to reconsider, and during the peak of the tensions, armed conflicts had broken out in Cipritine and other major cities, but fortunately in the end cooler heads had prevailed. Victus and the majority of the Hierarchy were still pressing ahead with the Digeris relocation plans, but at least now the relocation would not be enforced, extending everyone a choice whether to leave Palaven or not. Still, this controversial decision threatened to split the turian society right down the middle, which in itself was a worrying sign for galactic unity.

In the meantime, the krogan seemed to behave, the salarians appeared content to be left to their own devices, the quarians were mostly concerned with building up their numbers to sustain a viable population, the batarians sat quietly and didn't dare to cause any trouble after the thrashing they had taken from every side. As for the humans... Morgan still felt the bubbling bitterness towards her kin and using her own colorful expressions, couldn't give a shit about most of the news coming out from Sol or New Arc.

But all these thoughts of galactic politics started to quickly fade from her head when her feet now took her down the road meandering through the neighborhood of several sprawling villas, lightly jogging past the blossoming hedges on her way back to the T'Soni Estate. This was a potentially important day for Shepard-T'Soni family, as they would finally learn the results of Lita's latest aptitude tests, required for admittance into the most prestigious school of Armali, named after the famous Matriarch Dilinaga, a school from which both Liara and Benezia had graduated from. And while Morgan had full confidence in her daughter's abilities, Liara had been a bundle of nerves these past few weeks, and earlier this morning, having noticed that her bondmate's hands were literally shaking with nervousness, she had forbidden Liara to drive the skycar on the short trip to the school, demanding that instead Shiala took her and Lita, brushing aside her bondmate's weak protestations.

Liara's skycar was parked on the landing platform outside the estate when Shepard, just about starting to break out a few droplets of perspiration, finally finished her morning jog and walked back inside the mansion, looking around for her bondmate and their daughter, unable to spot either of them. Morgan ran her hand through her slightly damp hair, wondering where the two most important people of her life were hiding, trying to decide between the urge to seek them out and the ever growing need of a warm shower.

At that point, Aethyta came down the stairs and gave her a slightly odd stare. "I was about to message you," she said gruffly. "Where the hell did you get lost for so long?"

"Uh... I had my Spectre meeting?" Morgan blinked, uncertain about reasons behind Aethyta's slightly weird behavior. "Has something happened? Where's Lita?"

"I sent her over to Aria's house to play with her 'big sisters' as she calls those two," Aethyta's voice softened a little at that.

"Okay, that's all good and well. What about Liara?" Morgan asked. "Did she say anything how things went at the school?"

"Well, that's the thing," Aethyta sighed. "She didn't say a word after getting back. Just ran past me, clutching a datapad against her chest, looking as if someone had kicked her. Went straight to your room and locked herself in. Won't respond or let me in."

"Oh, fuck," Morgan paled, her heart going numb with fear as she dashed upstairs, forgetting to even thank Aethyta for letting her know, running all the way towards their bedroom, finding the electronic lock activated on the doors, not even bothering to knock but instead quickly inputting the access code, knowing that if Liara had been terribly upset, it would not have occurred to her to change it.

The view inside the bedroom was very much like she expected and feared it might be. The datapad lay on the floor, having been violently tossed against the wall, nearly snapping it in two. Liara herself had crawled into the bed, curled into a fetal position and shaking with sobs, Morgan barely able to look at her bondmate without her heart shattering into a million pieces.

She picked up the datapad on her way towards the bed, sitting down at the foot of the bed and for now avoiding touching Liara's shaking frame, wanting to first read the contents of the datapad, just to understand what had triggered this outbreak. While the datapad was badly smashed, it was not completely destroyed and Morgan was still able to digest the contents of the message written on it.

_'Dear Lady T'Soni,'_ the missive said. _'Please find the enclosed results of the aptitude tests of your daughter, Lita Ashley Shepard-T'Soni. Based on these test results and due to her lack of biotic ability, we think it would be most prudent for young Lita to receive two additional years of home schooling, after which we would happily offer a revaluation. However, in light of the many generous donations that the school has received from House T'Soni over the years as well as considering your own actions during the Great War, we feel that in this case, an exception should be made. We would be happy to accept Lita Ashley Shepard-T'Soni amongst the students of Dilinaga Primary School.'_

_Wait a minute, _Morgan thought, feeling a little confused._ Lita's in! What the hell is Liara freaking out for, then? _She looked upon her bondmate again, Liara desperately pressing her face into the pillow, already soaking wet with her tears that did not show a single hint of ceasing. Sighing deeply, Morgan slid down on the bed, gently rolling up against her bondmate, comfortingly pressing against Liara's back, a little frightened at just how tense the asari was, every muscle in her body hard like a tightened cord.

Morgan began to softly stroke her bondmate's shoulders, her sides, hoping that the contact would relax her a little bit, but it was clear that to get through to Liara she would need a meld, and so she pressed her brow against the back of Liara's crest, lightly tapping the side of the asari's head with her fingers. "Knock, knock," she said softly, asking Liara to invite her consciousness into joining with hers.

"Please..." her bondmate whimpered instead, not responding through the mental link. "I just... can't..."

"Knock, knock," Morgan simply repeated again, knowing that despite Liara's token struggles, it was exactly what she needed. "You can. You need this. Stop fighting me."

The sniffling and the crying stopped only a little as Morgan felt the small, reluctant tug at the back of her mind, instantly throwing herself at the small gap that Liara had opened, hoping to seize her opportunity before Liara had decided to shut her out again. _'What are you so upset about, love?' _she wasted no time in pushing forth with the questions. _'Lita got accepted, everything is alright... isn't it?' _

_'Did you read why she was accepted?' _

_'Yes, but... aren't you putting a bit too much emphasis on that? The most important thing is that she'll be able to receive the best education available on Thessia.' _

_'Shepard, they would have never taken her, unless for the T'Soni family name. I want only the best for our daughter, but if I have placed her into a position where the only way for her to succeed is to fall back on the reputation of our family... then she will grow to despise me for what I have done to her.'_

_'You can't know that, Liara. Maybe she'll choose to pursue a field in which her biotic limitations won't hinder her. It is ridiculous to torment yourself over something that probably won't even become an issue...' _Morgan tried to apply the approach that she found always worked the best when trying to calm down Liara, sending supportive and loving thoughts through the bond, together with what she hoped were rational, logical arguments, trying to appeal to her bondmate's logical, scientific mind.

_'I'm... terrified by the thought of ever losing her love,' _came the quiet confession, the shaking of Liara's shoulders lessening just a little bit.

_'That's never going to happen, surely you feel how she idolizes you,' _with that Morgan sent several of her own memories through their mental link, some of the tender and loving moments that she had witnessed between the young mother and her child, playing together, blissful expressions on their faces in a knowledge meld, or teaching Lita to swim in the shallow waters of Lake Armali. _'You have felt the depth of her love for you. That kind of bond will not be broken because of this, I have no doubt about it.' _

_'I... I... you truly think so?' _the doubts were slowly starting to fade, Liara's sobbing ceasing and body starting to relax from its seized up state.

_'I would stake my life on it, sweetie,' _the words were accompanied with increased physical contact, wrapping both her hands around Liara's midriff and pulling the asari tighter against her, the closeness aiding in helping Liara shake off the last bits of depression, now that the worst had dissipated. _'I don't understand why they would not accept her, anyway. Is the lack of biotic ability really such a big deal for the asari? You know I am not a biotic, and I can survive just fine. I've never felt disabled just because I don't have biotics.'_

_'It is... not just that, Morgan. Her aptitude scores are considerably lower than the average for her age.' _Liara began to pull out from the meld then, and Shepard reluctantly allowed her, hoping that the asari was not about to slip back into her depression."I spoke with Dr. Lorisia recently," her bondmate spoke aloud, turning around to face her. "She looked over some of the more recent scans, and identified reduced activity in parts of Lita's brain. The only consolation is that she could have been even worse off, because of what I stupidly put myself through. Should have been worse off..."

"But... I know that she's not stupid, Liara," Morgan shook her head, refusing to believe it, now beginning to feel a little depressed herself, even if she did her best not to show it. "I have spent enough time with my own daughter to know that she is a bright, inquisitive and resourceful lovable little brat, there doesn't seem to be anything at all wrong with her!"

"It is... nothing obvious. She sometimes takes a long time to grasp new concepts. That is all. It is for that reason they recommended that I spend more time teaching her at home. They said I had done well, but we simply were a little behind the curve," Liara explained.

"Well... it's not so bad, really," Morgan tried to summon a smile, then pressing her brow against Liara's as they lay embraced, savoring the comforting closeness. "She might not grow up to be the fiercest commando or the brightest scholar, but there is nothing that would stop her from becoming a famous musician, or poet, or... I don't know, a chef, anything really!"

"Yes, I... I suppose that is true," Liara smiled in return. "I guess I have been harboring the foolish hope that she would follow into my footsteps, but... while that would make me happy, it might not be what Lita grows up wanting. Morgan... I thank you for making me see reason in this."

"I'm just... relieved I could help, love," Morgan smiled, tentatively brushing her lips against Liara's, finding them immediately ensnared into a gentle, caressing kiss. "At some point we really need to stop dwelling on our past decisions and focus on thinking about the life ahead of us," she said as their lips parted.

"I will try, if you promise to do the same," Liara spoke quietly.

"A promise it is," Morgan smiled, leaning closer to her bondmate to seal the resolution with another kiss.

* * *

_Discovery, Capital of Horizon_

Oriana Lawson woke up with the unpleasant feeling of her head being filled with rocks and weighing a ton, groaning as rays of the midday light burned her cheeks and stabbed her eyes through the closed eyelids. Cursing this mother of all hangovers, unable to remember just how or why she happened to be suffering from it, Oriana slowly rolled over in her queen-sized bed, trying to escape the offending light of the star Iera, ending up unexpectedly bumping against a warm body in her bed.

"Sol?" she muttered quietly, wondering whether her ex-girlfriend had come crawling back to her. _No, that can't be, she was really pissed off at me, I think she's already on a shuttle back to Ilium..._ she mused, recalling the last message she had received from Solania.

Too lazy to open her eyes, Oriana Lawson simply slipped a hand under the covers and briefly touched the other person in the bed next to her. The skin was soft, but lacked the defined texture of asari skin. She slowly ran her hand down the body of her bedmate, conducting a simple explorative study. _Human... female... oh gods, definitely a female,_ Oriana let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as her hand moved over the naked breast of her companion, unable to keep herself from rubbing her thumb against the sensitive nipple, hearing a quiet sigh escape the lips of her still slumbering partner. Unashamedly, she moved her hand even lower, tracing the outline of the stranger's hip, feeling mildly shocked when she discovered that the other woman was not wearing any underwear, naked just as she was.

_Dear lord, did I hook up with some complete stranger last night and brought them home to have sex with?_ Oriana asked herself desperately. _What the hell is wrong with me, that's not me at all! _

Then she finally decided to open her eyes... saying nothing but a quiet "Uh-oh..." when she found herself staring in the slumbering, confused face of Samantha Traynor...


	30. Flying Spaghetti Monsters

**Chapter 30 – Flying Spaghetti Monsters**

_Year 2198 CE  
New Arc, Arcturus Stream _

Katherine Hock's lips formed a victorious and pleased smile as she poured herself more of the ridiculously expensive champagne, continuing to watch the reports of the Alliance News Network, concentrating on the recent parliamentary elections, speculating just how the situation might develop in the wake of the surprising and decisive victory by the Terra Firma party.

A week before the elections, Terra Firma were strong favorites in every conducted poll, some of the predictions going as high as giving them 35% of the votes. Katherine would have settled for that and slightly less, but shockingly for the Terra Firma leaders themselves, they had achieved a landslide victory with the support of 42% voters, giving them a complete dominance of the parliament. This didn't quite allow them to run things all by themselves on New Arc, they needed the support of some of the smaller groups that would be content with one or two spots on the cabinet, but in truth this was as close as it could come to seizing all political power in their hands.

While the more liberal media, including the alien news network representatives stationed on New Arc, were busy stoking up panic about humanity succumbing to tyrannical rule of a proven group of xenophobic human supremacists, the conservative Sol-based media were highly approving of the results, and the Alliance News Network also appeared highly optimistic about the direction that the humanity would move towards after these elections.

Katherine and her Terra Firma colleagues still did not know how the results could have tilted so sharply over the last week. They had taken the expected thrashing out on the colonies, mustering below 5% of votes, everyone out there in the Traverse hating Terra Firma with burning passion. But they had scored over 50% on Earth, resulting in this landslide victory, which was simply shocking and unthinkable. Berezin's Galactic Unity party had limped home with under 20% of votes, dismayed and embarrassed, trying to launch a protest about possibly rigged elections, but finding their protests thrown out very swiftly. Katherine had privately feared that their results were too good to be true, but from the speed with which the appeal had been rejected, she assumed that everything was truly legitimate. It was as if some kind of higher force had swept all across Earth and compelled all the undecided voters to give their support to Terra Firma... a ridiculous and fantastic thought, but... there was something about the unprecedented turnout of nearly 90% of voters that bothered her just a little bit.

Still, she brushed these doubts aside, continuing to savor their victory, made all the more sweeter by the delicious champagne and from hearing the news reporter already referring to Berezin as the 'former Prime Minister'. Several Terra Firma candidates were discussed, and she was pleased to always hear her name at the forefront of the discussions, the various experts and journalists reflecting on the stellar job she had done as the minister of finances, quietly agreeing that she might be the new face that should represent this shifting change in the direction that the Systems Alliance was taking after these elections.

It was almost amusing that they had managed to defeat Berezin without resorting to using the Shadow Broker resources to find something to discredit the Prime Minister with. No, this time she had defeated her opposition in a fair fight, by simply being better and more competent than anyone else, and it... felt good, it felt thrilling and exhilarating. She reached out to pour more champagne for herself, suddenly being startled by the beep and the flashing green light on the intercom, before her secretary spoke on the comms. "Miss Hock, I apologize for interrupting, you said not to disturb you, but... there is a visitor to see you."

"Clara, I said no visitors," Katherine hissed, displeased about the secretary not comprehending such a simple order.

"I know, miss Hock, but... I thought you might want to make an exception in this case," the secretary mumbled, sounding a little frantic and frightened.

"Well, who is it then?" Kat demanded.

"It's Rear Admiral McIllis of the Alliance Command," Clara quickly explained.

"One moment," Katherine spoke quickly, feeling a little stunned. _Damn, why would a Rear Admiral show up unannounced like this? I'm not exactly ready to speak with him, _she cursed mentally, feeling more than a little tipsy from all the celebratory champagne she had consumed. At the same time, she was painfully aware that she couldn't simply send McIllis away, he was a very important man in the Alliance Command, one of the triumvirate of power at the very top, and she knew that it could only be very beneficial for her to make nice with the Alliance admiralty. "Very well, Clara, show the Rear Admiral in," she finally said, having shaken some of the tipsiness out of her head, trying to gather her thoughts in preparation for the meeting.

"Ah, miss Hock, please don't bother rising," said Admiral McIllis, a stern looking man of close to sixty years, entering her office and watching her struggle to get up from her chair, the champagne coming back to hit her square in the back of her head as she tried to rise. Grateful, she sank back into the chair, feeling relieved and embarrassed at the same time. "My congratulations on your success in the elections, miss Hock. It is very understandable that such achievement should deserve a little celebration," he added, taking a seat at her desk.

"Thank you, Admiral," Katherine smiled a little weakly. "Please, do help yourself to the champagne, I... think I should not have any more myself."

"I think I will pass, but thank you all the same, miss Hock," the admiral politely declined.

"Admiral... this is a rather unexpected visit and you have me at a disadvantage," Katherine pressed forward, deciding to be a little more direct, knowing that these military types disliked beating around the bush that most politicians were so fond of. "Please, tell me to what do I owe the pleasure. You did not come all the way to New Arc just to congratulate me."

"Straight to the point, I like that, miss Hock, I like that very much," McIllis nodded. "Such a welcome difference from dealing with the old man Berezin. Very well, I will not waste your time. Miss Hock, you are in a very strong position to take over as the next Prime Minister, and as such the Alliance Command would wish to... clarify your stance on several matters that are very important to us. I thought that it would be best done in an… informal atmosphere. I give you my word of honor as a gentleman and an officer of the Alliance that everything discussed between us will not leave the confines of these four walls."

_Hmm, they must be taking my candidacy and my chances seriously, that is a good sign! Well, I better play nice... support of the Alliance Command could take me a long way..._ Katherine quickly decided. "Of course, Admiral. I have always been outspoken about my views and I have nothing to hide, so please, ask me anything and I will do my best to satisfy your curiosity."

"Very well, miss Hock, just a few simple questions that won't take long," McIllis said, looking pleased about her cooperation. "I would like to know your thoughts regarding the amended Treaty of Farixen from seven years ago. Do you agree with the restrictions that have been imposed upon us?"

Katherine did not have to think long on that one. To her mind, the Treaty of Farixen should have been abolished a long time ago, but the Council were as always very set in their ways and slow to change, unwilling to make drastic changes, but instead moving with tiny baby steps. Instead of just throwing the treaty out of the window, the ratio of turian to old Council races like asari and salarians to new Council races like humans, quarians, krogan and the geth, to associates had been amended to 5:4:3:1, which to Katherine Hock seemed preposterous.

"I think it is frankly ridiculous," she exclaimed passionately. "The turians have been unable to rebuild their fleets to anything closely resembling their numbers prior to the Reaper War. They have so many internal issues to deal with that the production of new dreadnaughts has ceased. Why should we let their issues impede us so severely? We could have produced a number of dreadnaughts while they are stalling and bickering!"

"Councilor Hackett has decided against putting the merits of the Treaty up for further consideration before the Council, claiming that a new arms race is not what a rebuilding galaxy needs," McIllis continued. "Do you agree with his reasoning?"

Katherine stopped to think for a moment. It was no secret that McIllis and Hackett had been very close allies once, when the Councilor was still at the head of the Alliance Command. But things might have changed since then, and Katherine decided to continue speaking her mind, feeling that McIllis was the kind of man to be more impressed by candidness, even if he did not share her opinions. "I disagree, sir," she said decisively. "Nobody saw the Reaper invasion before it was too late. The Treaty left us crippled then, and we can't be certain that there truly aren't any other threats out there, in the dark space. To deny ourselves the growth and expansion because of the negligence of others would be foolish and irresponsible."

"I see," McIllis nodded emotionlessly, making Katherine wonder whether she had made the right call on voicing her opinions. "The relationships between Earth and our Traverse colonies have become very strained over the past few years. What is your view on this situation and what steps would you take to correct it?"

"I think we are dealing with the fallout of mishandling this issue even before the Reaper War," Katherine replied quickly. "We sent our people to colonize these profitable garden worlds and then forgot all about them. They should have never been out there to make profits for themselves or private companies backing them, those riches and resources should have been flowing back to the Alliance the whole time. Then perhaps now when we ask for what is rightfully our share, we would not hear such grumbling and protests in return. And they should have always been better protected by the Alliance, there are still bad feelings towards us from the whole Collector disaster."

"And now they refuse our offers of protection, claiming that they can do an adequate job at protecting themselves," McIllis stated. "How would you convince our colonies to accept a greater presence of the Alliance forces in the Traverse?"

"Even if stubborn and disagreeable, they are still our people. If you simply bring your marines in and begin constructing military bases on colony worlds, there would be violent protests and uprisings," Katherine mused. "But if the order came from the Councilor's office... they might be persuaded to let the Alliance in."

"A very shrewd suggestion, miss Hock," the admiral nodded, still not giving any indication whether he agreed or not. "One last question, if I may. How do you see the role of humanity in the galaxy?"

"Humanity led the war effort against the Reapers, while the other races were trying to muster hopeless resistance, fighting on their own. Following our key role in the war, we should have seized a greater slice of influence amongst the other races and become the truly dominant force in the galaxy that all the others look up to. Instead, the usual bureaucracy of the Council has bogged us down again. Our diplomats are outplayed at every turn by the wily asari and salarians, and we are out-muscled by the heavy-handed turians. I see humanity as the leading force in the galaxy, not just... followers of the old Council races, stuck in their ways and resistant to change."

"And you believe that our potential will not be realized under the leadership of Councilor Hackett," McIllis finished for her.

"No, Admiral... while I think that Councilor Hackett believes that he has the best interests of humanity at heart, he is often being too amiable towards our 'allies' on the Council. He appears unwilling to see that often humanity's interests won't be served by playing nice with the aliens. Sometimes conflict is necessary to advance the goals of the humanity."

"Thank you for your time and your honesty, miss Hock," Admiral McIllis nodded, rising from his seat and bowing his head, before turning around to leave. "Your opinions have been very interesting and illuminating."

"Wait... Admiral McIllis!" Katherine called out, slightly shocked that the man would still not elaborate on anything she had said. "Is that... is that it?" she asked as McIllis turned around, giving her an impassive stare.

"Yes, that is it... for now," he replied, proceeding towards the doors. "In two weeks you will become the Prime Minister of the Systems Alliance, miss Hock. It has been decided. Once that happens... we will speak more."

As the doors to her office closed following the admiral's exit, Katherine Hock could only look on with a stunned wide-eyed stare, eventually starting to wonder whether the entire conversation had been conjured by her champagne addled mind...

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

Liara stood at the window of one of the upstairs studies of the T'Soni Estate, looking down at the courtyard where Shiala was busy practicing with Lita. Watching the biotic training, Liara was forced to remember her own childhood, having done exactly the same exercises under Shiala's guidance, starting with pushing and balancing various small objects, then moving on to more complicated tasks. _I can remember it as clear as if it were yesterday,_ she thought to herself. _I could have never predicted that less than hundred years later I would be watching my own child being tutored by Shiala. It sounds so mad, crazy, impossible, and yet it happened. _

Of course, Lita had nowhere near the biotic potential that Liara herself had possessed in her youth, considered somewhat of a prodigy amongst her peers. The simplest exercises took Lita a great deal of effort and because of the difficulties she had, her daughter had grown to rather dislike the time consuming training. At least for now she had kept her complaints to a minimum and a motivating system of rewards managed to keep her interested in practicing. And Lita needed this exercise, the more talented students required no additional training outside of what they received in school, but her daughter needed to put in tedious hours of work just in order not to fall behind.

"So, how is she doing?" a voice nearby suddenly startled her so badly that she almost collapsed from her legs suddenly growing completely limp, her heart making a sickening somersault inside her chest.

"...goddess..." she breathed, sinking into the chair at the window, weakly looking up to see that Aria had entered the room unnoticed, giving her that characteristic and insufferably smug smile. "Aria... I did not hear you coming in. What are you even doing here?"

"Shepard invited us over for an evening of sauna, don't you remember?" Aria rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I came up to fetch you."

"Was that… really tonight?" Liara wondered, feeling suddenly tired. "I completely forgot... I'm sorry."

"Well, you should be sorry. And you did not answer my question," Aria said sternly.

"Oh... I suppose she's doing as well as can be expected," Liara replied, looking outside again. The last throw directed at one of Lita's old stuffed toys had been slightly more effective than the previous attempts, Harby the Harbinger flying almost full ten yards before plopping down on the grass. "If we keep practicing like this, she will be able to keep up with the curve for a few good years, maybe even decade. But sooner or later she's going to fall behind, even if between Shiala and myself we will teach her every trick in the book."

"I'll be happy to teach the kid some of my moves, when I'm not too busy," Aria offered.

"Really? That's... very kind of you, Aria," Liara looked up at the Queen of Omega, smiling. "Lita would like that, I think. Ever since you gave her that shotgun, she has a case of hero worship towards you, almost as much as for her father."

"Yeah, apparently this ruthless bitch is really good with kids," Aria chuckled. "Don't push her too hard, though. I know what you're trying to do, and I don't think it's worth making the kid completely worn out. Biotics is just one part of the package, important as it is."

"But you know how the other kids are at the school, always ready with a mocking word when someone fails to succeed at some task. These first few months have been encouraging, I'll admit that, but I don't want my child to suffer indignities."

"You're trying to protect her, I understand that," Aria said, stepping to stand behind Liara's chair. "What parent would not do the same? I tried to do that for Liselle. She had everything I could give her. The best education, the best biotic instructors, I spent years, decades teaching her myself, because I knew what kind of dangerous shithole Omega was and I wanted to give her the best chance I could. You know how that ended up."

"I am aware, yes," Liara replied stiffly. "But if you had not trained her as you did, it is possible that you would have lost her even sooner than that. And surely you're not suggesting that I just... do nothing for Lita? That I leave things as they are?"

"I am not suggesting that at all, you foolish maiden," Aria softly reprimanded. "I am trying to tell you that there are so many circumstances beyond our control that we cannot possibly prepare our children for every eventuality. Consider the mother of Rila and Falere, for example."

"The justicar, Samara? What about her?"

"She was raising three beautiful daughters, feeling nothing but pride about how gifted and talented they were. And suddenly her world came tumbling down, when she discovered that her daughters were Ardat-Yakshi. Everything she had taught them, prepared them for... became meaningless in an instant."

"Fortunately Lita can't have that condition... what are you really driving at, Aria?" Liara asked, tensing up a little.

"What I am driving at, Liara, is that yes, you should try and give only the best for your daughter, but you should not push her, and sometimes, instead of forcing more biotic exercises upon her, you should simply spend time together with her... like mother and daughter," Aria said, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice. "I... did not do that enough with Liselle. My time was limited and whenever I could spare an hour or two away from looking after my interests on Omega, I drove her through more and more rigorous training. She grew up respecting me, thankful for what I had given her, but... I am not certain whether she grew up loving me."

"Oh... I... I understand now," Liara said quietly, touched by the emotion in Aria's voice. "I... I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure that she did love you, even if..."

"Even if we never talked about it, even if our relationship appeared aloof and businesslike... well, for what it's worth, I hope you're right, Liara," the Pirate Queen nodded, reaching down and patting the younger asari on her shoulder. "My, someone here is really tense," her hands settled more firmly on Liara's shoulders. "Let me help you as you have helped me before."

"No, Aria, please there is no need," Liara protested, trying to get up as Aria's hands began to move more firmly over her shoulders and neck, the elder asari easily pushing her back onto her seat again.

"Sit. Shut up and relax," Aria ordered in her best imperious voice, Liara blinking and suddenly forgetting to utter any more complaints, resigning herself to her fate. Soon enough she forgot what she was going to complain about in the first place, a few soft sighs escaping her lips as Aria truly bent to her task. "Yes, I can feel some of that tension loosening," the Pirate Queen spoke as she continued the massage. "How does it feel?"

"Mhm, good... very good," Liara sighed contently. After a little bit of probing, Aria now managed to hit some of the particularly sore and tense spots, just the way Liara preferred. _And just the way Shepard does it,_ she thought, remembering how the hands of her bondmate felt on her shoulders, noting with surprise that Aria's touch felt very similar. Being an asari, Aria's palms were narrower and fingers more slender, but the force she exerted was almost exactly identical to Morgan's technique.

_I guess it makes sense... they are more alike than they both would care to admit, _Liara thought with a content grin on her face. _They are both so very protective of those they care about, protectors by nature. Aria used to have her daughter and Omega, but now that circle has grown... and it feels as if we are also included this extended family as well. Shepard's love and protectiveness would be enough for me, and then there is my father, also fiercely defensive about the family... I wouldn't even need Aria to include us amongst those she feels protective about... but yet she does, and I feel comforted... and flattered by it. _

"There, I think this is much better," Aria stated with satisfaction, finishing her kneading of Liara's now soft and relaxed shoulders.

"Yes, thank you, that was very kind of you, Aria," Liara said, smiling at the other asari.

Aria was in no hurry to remove her hands from Liara's shoulders. "There is something I wish to share with you," she said quietly. "Will you allow it?"

"Meld?" Liara asked, looking up at Aria, her heart skipping a few paces from the thought, slightly fearful and excited at the same time. There was a part of her that still felt a little intimidated by the Queen of Omega, but it was lessening with every conversation between them. "I... very well," she agreed, having watched Aria nod slowly.

Darkness swallowed the young maiden for a moment as Aria joined her consciousness with Liara's. It was as Liara had expected it, the very opposite of linking her mind with the ever thoughtful and cautious Tevos, Aria simply strode into her mind with a swagger as soon as Liara had opened a gap in the doors to let her in, the Pirate Queen acting as if she owned the place. But Liara had been prepared, keeping up only the bare minimum of barriers to protect her secrets, knowing that trying to resist Aria would only make the connection between them uncomfortable and potentially even painful.

Soon enough images of Aria's selected memories began to fill her mind, Liara immediately recognizing the bleak skyline of Omega, the familiar sounds of distant cries, echoing gunshots, the sights of the nondescript grayish-brown dwellings, scraps of dirt and waste containers thrown haphazardly about the narrow passages. The images shifted, drifting higher and reaching the window of an apartment, stealing a peek inside to reveal a picture of three young girls playing excitedly on the mostly clean floor. _'I tried to give her as normal childhood as I could, given the circumstances,'_ she heard Aria's voice over the images of a young asari together with a turian girl giving their batarian friend a matching face painting, all three of them giggling like mad at the end result.

_'Moments like these... I could not give her often enough.' _The images swirled and now focused on a figure of an asari, perched on the rooftop of a building opposite of the apartment where the girls were playing. It was Aria, looking a little younger than Liara knew her now, twin pistols resting on the roof next to her as the asari now and then glanced at what the girls were doing, spending most of the time receiving reports and sending out new orders on her omni-tool, keeping her criminal empire running even as she kept an eye on her daughter. _'Her friendships never lasted, either. I only trusted to let her play with the children of those in my employ, and the hazard of the job meant that sooner or later the parents of Liselle's friends would get murdered by some rival gang.' _

The images shifted again, this time to reveal a slightly more adult, perhaps forty year old Liselle walking through the slums of Omega, cautiously looking around the entire time, ducking to hide behind trash bins whenever she noticed someone approaching. _'Omega is no place to bring up a child. I should have honored my promise to Tevos to send her to Thessia.'_ Liselle was now running, three thugs hot in pursuit after the young asari maiden, a vorcha, a turian and a batarian. It did not take long for them to catch up to Liselle, the batarian sticking out his leg and tripping her, the maiden crashing into the wall and collapsing on the ground, dazed. The intentions of the thugs were apparent immediately, Liara's throat churning with bile when she saw the batarian beginning to unbutton the front of his pants... but they would never have the chance to even lay a hand on Liselle. In a flash, after a daring jump from the rooftops, death itself landed in the middle of the three bastards.

_'Whenever I allowed her to go out and try leading a normal life, something like this inevitably occurred. It was Omega... and I was always there for her.' _Moments later, Aria was standing over three horribly mutilated corpses, sparing them only a small glance before walking over to her near unconscious daughter and picking her up from the ground to carry her away with soft steps. _'But I always dreaded the day when I would arrive a moment too late. The day when I would not be there to help her.' _

_'She grew up, her biotics were strong, and she knew how to handle a gun.' _The images shifted to show Liselle well into her maiden years, older than Liara's current age, sitting in Afterlife and drinking together with some of the other lieutenants under Aria's command. _'I thought that the worst had passed. I thought that I no longer had to fear about her. I was so very wrong when that day came.' _Liara suddenly saw Aria, sitting down on a bed, her arms twisting the once white bedsheets, now coated with the purple asari blood. _'The day when I wasn't there for her.' _

More images followed, of Aria standing next to a table in the morgue, covered with a white sheet, its contours revealing the shape of the young asari underneath, Aria's face that of a destroyed parent's, twisted with rage and sorrow. _'The day I let her down. The day I let Tevos down.' _

_'Aria... you can't blame yourself. You couldn't have expected yourself to always be there for her.' _

_'But you expect yourself to always be there for your child, do you not?' _

_'I... goddess, I try not to, I know it is impossible, but it is so hard... is that why you showed this to me, Aria?' _

_'Yes. Don't make the same mistake I've made. Be there for your daughter, but don't demand the impossible, not from her, nor from yourself.' _

_'I will try... thank you, Aria. I am surrounded by so many who genuinely care about my daughter and me, and won't allow me to make foolish mistakes of a novice mother... I am happy that you are amongst those people.' _

_'Well, you have earned it, T'Soni. But now we should part. You must invite me again, your mind is such an enjoyable place to visit.' _Liara could swear she heard Aria's mental smirking as the Pirate Queen began to swiftly pulling her consciousness away from Liara's, doing so slightly too fast and a little too disconcerting for Liara's liking, but at least it was not painful.

For a while, neither of them said anything, Liara feeling a little overwhelmed and exhausted. Finally, Aria spoke first. "Are you coming?" she asked simply.

"Excuse me?" Liara snapped out of her confused thoughts.

"To the sauna? Did you forget about it _again_?" Aria groaned.

"Oh. Err... I must confess I feel a little tired, Aria. I would like to lay down for an hour or so... would it be acceptable if I do that and join you later?"

"I suppose," Aria shrugged. "But make sure that you join us eventually," she added, gently running the back of her palm along Liara's sensitive crest, sending a tremor of sudden, unexpected pleasure through Liara's tired frame. "You will be missed."

"I will be there, Aria," Liara replied, smiling as she heard the Pirate Queen withdrawing and closing the doors behind her.

* * *

_New Mars Shipyards, Sol System_

Lieutenant-Commander Stephan Lacroix gave a deep sigh, watching the figure of Admiral Shaun O'Leary barging through the doors of the engineering department of the new Mars shipyards of Systems Alliance. The day had started so lovely, but no doubt that was about to change as O'Leary made a beeline straight for his desk.

"Stephan, what the fuck is this shit?" O'Leary bellowed, throwing a stack of datapads down onto his desk. "Are the people in your department high on red sand? Or do they think it's the April Fools Day? I dare say, it is not, today is the 18th November of the Earth calendar!"

"Uh, what seems to be the problem, Admiral?" Lacroix asked, rubbing his aching head.

"This! This is the problem!" the admiral would not calm down, sticking a datapad right up Stephan's nose. "We already agreed on the new Warlock class designs, didn't we? Who the fuck decided to add these last moment enhancements and mucked up all the blueprints? Someone is trying to be funny here, but do you see me laughing, Stephan?"

"So... what exactly are you objecting to, Admiral?" Lacroix wondered, taking another look at the blueprints. Everything looked perfect, even beautiful to him.

"What the fuck is this? It looks like someone has drawn an appendage to the new dreadnaught! It looks like a fucking Flying Spaghetti Monster! What is that even supposed to be?" O'Leary fumed. "And this bit, over here? Is that a Reaper part? Someone has even written so on the datapad! See here, 'this is a cool Reaper part'. I... I don't even have words... what's going on? I'm warning you, find this practical joker or I'll remove your balls instead!"

"Hmm… very well, Sir. I'll take a look at it right now..." Lieutenant-Commander Lacroix nodded, beginning to peruse the datapads, even if he saw nothing wrong in the beautiful designs himself. "Admiral, while I research these blueprints, would you please like to step over to that shelf and observe the beautiful orb that my cousin sent me from a digsite in the Aetheon Cluster?" he asked, pointing at the blue shimmering orb nearby.

"Why the fuck would I want to look at a stupid orb, all I care are about my ruined dreadnaught designs," O'Leary ranted, not moving from the spot.

"Please, Admiral, I assure that you will not regret it. The ripples across the orb's surface are particularly beautiful to observe, if you would please step closer to it."

"Screw you and your fucking orb, Lacroix, I'm going to bloody smash that stupid thing, why is this shit even at your office, I don't remember giving a permission to-" O'Leary continued to rant as he approached the orb with the obvious intent to smash it, but then the admiral suddenly stopped in his tracks as he came closer to the object. Something in his face seemed to click, the anger fading away and expression shifting to quiet veneration, as he now seemed to admire the orb. "You're right, Stephan... damn, it really is beautiful..."

"I told you so, Admiral," Lacroix nodded, pleased about O'Leary's agreement. "Now, would you like to take another look at these dreadnaught schematics?"

"What? Oh... yes, yes, of course," O'Leary pealed himself away from the orb and approached his desk again, picking up a datapad. "Lovely, aren't they? The fusion of the existing Warlock schematics with organic components and Reaper weapons systems was a brilliant idea, Stephan. Well done, I'm really proud of the work your team has done here."

"Thank you, Admiral!" Stephan smiled. "When are we beginning production?"

"In two months... but there is much to do before that, as you can imagine. Plenty of components to gather still... we have lots of work before us, Stephan."

"Indeed, we do, Admiral. But do not forget to take a few minutes off every now and then to come over and just stare at that orb. I find it is very relaxing, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh yes, you read my mind, Stephan," O'Leary nodded. "In fact, I'm going to look at it some more now."

"I think I will join you for a bit, Admiral," Lacroix said, getting up from the desk. "Just can't get enough of looking at that beautiful orb..."


	31. They Have Got A Secret

**Chapter 31 – They Have Got A Secret **

_Year 2199 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

"Ah, Spectre Lawson, pleased to see you," Councilor Hackett greeted his guest, walking over to Miranda to shake her hand before pulling back a seat for her at his desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure? You have always showed... reluctance in delivering your reports in person," he added, admitting that he felt just a little relieved about it. The raven-haired woman sitting in front of him was supremely confident and professional, and had proven steadfastly loyal, but there still was something about her demeanor that made Hackett just a little bit uneasy.

"There have been... interesting developments both in Sol as well as on New Arc," Miranda replied. "Frankly, I'm not sure how secure the _'secure'_ comm lines actually are anymore."

"What makes you say so, Spectre Lawson?" Hackett raised an eyebrow at her. _Damn it, all that whining and complaints coming in from the Traverse colonies already have me bogged down in tedious bureaucracy, I don't need more problems on New Arc and Sol, _he quietly lamented the potential predicament.

"Every time I have spoken with someone on the secure line about the next steps of my investigation it has resulted in my plans getting sabotaged or countered by those who I suspect of wrongdoing," Miranda grumbled.

"I know that you have voiced concerns about some of the decisions taken by the Alliance Command as of late," Hackett sighed. "I have dedicated a great deal of my precious time to look into these concerns. I have to say, miss Lawson, I found nothing suspicious in the reports submitted by Rear Admirals McIllis and Willoughby. Is it possible that you are mistaken about your accusations?"

"I don't think so, Councilor," Miranda shook her head defiantly. "Have you double checked their information?"

"Miss Lawson... both McIllis and Willoughby stood by my side when we defeated the Reapers," Hackett replied, feeling a little irritated about Miranda's impudence in candidly throwing suspicions at his old comrades. "They stood with me against Singh's attempts of a coup, and I trust them implicitly. If I am to accuse the Alliance Command of anything, I need more solid proof than just... suspicions."

"As it happens, I do have a proof, Councilor," Miranda replied, her voice considerably more stiff at having her concerns dismissed so easily at face value. "However, perhaps you could first refresh my memory, Sir. Under the amended Treaty of Farixen, how many dreadnaughts the Systems Alliance is entitled to deploy?"

"Very well, miss Lawson, though I am certain you already know the answer to this question," Hackett said, crossing his arms on his chest, not certain where Miranda was going with this. "As you are undoubtedly aware, the ratio is 5:3 between the turian dreadnaughts and ours. Turians currently have only 24 dreadnaughts, and have not built any new ones since the war, only running repairs on their existing ships. This number would allow the Systems Alliance to have the maximum of 15 dreadnaughts. Considering that after the war we were left with 16 ships, we are not allowed to construct a single one until the turians pick up the slack."

"Something that the Alliance Command is incredibly frustrated over, are they not?" Miranda asked cheekily, Hackett having the feeling that the woman was toying with him and disliking being led into these verbal traps.

"Yes, it has come up in conversations with my old comrades, I admit as much," Hackett shrugged, glaring at Miranda a little bit. "Where are you going with this, Lawson?"

"Allow me to demonstrate, Councilor," Miranda remarked casually, activating her omni-tool and bringing up a crisp image upon the holographic display, showing a newly constructed orbital facility above the familiar red planet in the background. "I trust you recognize the place."

"Of course," Hackett harrumphed. "New Mars Shipyards. Why are you showing me this, miss Lawson?"

"This picture was taken four years ago, when I attended the ceremony to unveil the facility. As you can clearly see, there is no ongoing production of ships at that time," Miranda said, then bringing up another picture, also of the same shipyards, but there was something drastically different about the scene before them. "There, what do you see now, Councilor?"

"Hmm," Hackett said, peering at the image. There was definitely a busy construction going on at the docks, the carcass of the dry-docked ship was of massive proportions, countless engineers and workers swarming around it. "When was this taken?"

"A month ago," came the prompt reply.

Hackett did not reply immediately, instead picking up the report of McIllis. There were several things about the report that he hadn't liked, not that he was about to mention them to Lawson. The way that Willoughby's report was an almost exact copy of her fellow admiral's missive was very confusing at best and alarming at worst. He quickly skimmed through the datapad until he found the relevant information regarding the Mars facilities. "Yes, they have a ship under construction right now, miss Lawson. But according to the reports, it is a carrier, not a dreadnaught," he eventually said, not truly believing his words. Yes, carriers were often of the same size as dreadnaughts, but the ship on the captured image did not look like a carrier, and he was certain that Lawson knew it as well.

"With all due respect, Councilor, please take a closer look at some of the already installed weapons systems. They are clearly not carrier-grade," Miranda shook her head. "I had the opportunity to look at them closer, I can assure you that it is what it appears to be. The Systems Alliance is breaking the Treaty of Farixen by illegally constructing additional dreadnaughts."

Hackett cursed inwardly, hating Lawson's undeniable logic. _Damn it, I did not need her to drop this problem on my head now, not on top of everything else. Just what are they up to, trying to keep this from me? Damnation... I will have to get to the bottom of this,_ he realized with a pained sigh. "Spectre Lawson, based on the chance that you are correct about this-"

"Oh, I am correct," Miranda cut him off, looking a little annoyed now.

"**If **you are correct," Hackett repeated stubbornly. "Then we cannot allow this information to spread. If the others on the Council learn about this, humanity will face severe consequences."

"I have no interest in seeing that come to pass, Councilor Hackett," Miranda agreed with a nod of her head. "Though we cannot simply leave the situation as it is. Sooner or later, this will come to light."

"Of course we can't leave it as it is," Hackett snapped. "I will look into it myself. My advisors are planning a diplomatic tour covering the Traverse colonies at the start of the next year. This includes a visit to Benning and New Arc, and I believe that I will insist on adding the Sol System to the list as well. I want to see this Mars facility for myself."

Miranda looked a little worried as Hackett disclosed his plans, or as concerned as the ever cool and collected operative could appear. "If you are certain that this is wise," she ventured, only receiving a dismissive nod of the head from Hackett in reply. "The colonies are demanding your attention as well, Councilor?" she asked then.

"You could say that," Hackett grumbled. "I don't particularly want to get into that, unless we absolutely must."

"Oh, not at all, I was merely making a conversation," Miranda said pleasantly. Hackett did not believe it for a moment, the woman detested small talk and everything she said was done with intent. "My sister is the director of several departments in the office of Governor Erikson on Horizon. I am sure you are familiar with the man."

"Oh boy, am I," Hackett groaned. "He's the loudest of the complainers."

"Well, the new quotas imposed on Horizon are particularly heavy," Miranda pointed out.

"I'm sure you will agree, miss Lawson, that in these troubled times we all must pitch in to help the cradle of humanity rebuild," Hackett sighed. He was hearing these arguments daily from representatives of Horizon, Terra Nova, Eden Prime, every human colony out there, interested only in growing their own layer of fat, clearly not caring that Earth still lay desolate, in ruins.

"These supplies are not to help rebuild Earth," Miranda said sharply, throwing a datapad on the desk in front of Hackett. "With Oriana's help, we tracked down where the shipments from Horizon are going. Most of the eezo and precious metals and minerals are being sent to the Mars shipyards, and other recently constructed and secretive military bases scattered throughout Sol."

"WHAT?!" Hackett bellowed, feeling a painful spike in his temples, the uncomfortable thudding of dangerously elevated blood pressure resonating in a horrible headache swiftly gripping him.

"Everything is included in the file," Miranda said with that irritating 'I-told-you-so' smirk of hers.

"What is going on here? Heads will roll over this nonsense, I can promise you that!" Hackett exclaimed, unable to calm down. "I will summon the entire Alliance Command to the Citadel, McIllis, Willoughby and Stefanowicz, and I will demand explanations!"

"Umm... Councilor, if I may advise..." Miranda spoke up, trying to interrupt Hackett's enraged ranting.

"Yes... yes, what is it, Lawson? Speak your mind," Hackett growled, still mad with anger both from the news and the spiking migraine.

"Councilor, I would advise against confronting the Alliance Command directly," Miranda shook her head. "It would not be prudent, until we know what exactly is going on and what are their reasons for these confusing and unexplainable actions."

"Lawson, I'm the damned Councilor! They wanted me in charge so I wouldn't allow this kind of madness to happen in the first place!" Hackett shouted.

"Nevertheless, such is my recommendation, and I will stick by it," Miranda said resolutely. "You may choose to ignore it, but I would also ask you to recall how many times my recommendations have proven erroneous or unreliable."

"I do not think that has happened even once…" Hackett was forced to admit, feeling a little deflated after all the ranting.

"Precisely," Miranda nodded with a smug smile. "Please, hear me out, Councilor. There is something else at work here, I don't know what it is as of yet, but I would like the opportunity to find out before you take such open action. I am starting to like your plan of a diplomatic tour. It will not be seen as aiming for direct confrontation and it won't cause suspicions, but at the same time it might cause them to react and possibly reveal something, such as who is the puppet master in this play."

"Hmm… very well, Lawson," Hackett reluctantly agreed. "I will try to speed up the preparations for the tour at least." He paused, thinking desperately. "Who do you think might be behind it all?"

"I don't know yet," Miranda shrugged. "I know that Rear Admiral McIllis is a very frequent visitor to the office of Prime Minister Hock. Which leads me to believe that this goes way beyond Alliance military."

"Very interesting... and very worrying," Hackett muttered. "I hold weekly vid conferences with miss Hock. Should I broach the subject with her?"

"Definitely not, there is a large chance that she is involved or at least aware of these plans, after all, the increased colony quotas must be ratified by the cabinet," Miranda said.

"I must confess being... shocked," Hackett admitted. "Young miss Hock has been rather pleasant to deal with, despite representing Terra Firma. When she took the office, I expected much worse, but our talks have always been constructive and fruitful, even if we disagree on some issues. In fact... her rational and logical approach to the tasks at hand very much reminds me of you, miss Lawson."

"If she's anything like me then we're definitely in big trouble," Miranda muttered.

"Hmm? Oh... yes, I see your point," Hackett nodded. Both of them sat silent for a while, looking troubled at these recent developments. "Very well, miss Lawson..." Hackett spoke eventually. "I will act accordingly to your advice for now. If there is nothing else for us to discuss..."

"That will be all, Councilor," Miranda rose gracefully, walking in her slightly swaying step towards the door. "I won't keep you from your work any longer..."

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

Spectre Morgan Shepard sighed, taking another sip of her once pleasantly cool fruity nectar, now having warmed up in the heat of the sauna. She brushed the gathering perspiration off her thighs, then leaning her head back as she ran her fingers through the moist, warm hair. Sauna usually never failed to relax her, but this evening its efficiency seemed to be somewhat reduced.

"Something is eating at you, Morgan," her lone companion in the sauna remarked, sitting on the wooden steps next to her, the purple asari skin of Tevos T'Naori also coated with glistening sheen of perspiration. Morgan had expected Aria to be joining them, but the Pirate Queen had been called away suddenly, a situation developing on Omega. Apparently some high level salarian executive in one of Aria's legitimate businesses had decided to dip his fingers into a huge pile of credits and make a run for it. He hadn't made far before someone seeking a favor with Aria had tipped off the Pirate Queen's security, and now the thief was awaiting his undoubtedly gruesome fate upon Aria's arrival.

_And knowing Aria, she's going to use this opportunity for one of those upper management culling, _Morgan smirked at that thought. Aria had made a habit of doing a little house cleaning every three or four years, eliminating the fat worms who had become engorged from opulent salaries and unashamed stealing from Aria's profits. Replacing half the people in the upper echelons made for a bit of a stir, but it motivated her minions to work hard and steal less, if only for a few years. _Given enough time, they'll once again forget that on Omega termination of work contract goes hand in hand with termination of one's life. But most people in the galaxy are greedy, small-minded and stupid. I'm jaded and cynical enough to agree that Aria's way is the same way I'd do it, were I put in her position. _

"Huh? Oh..." Morgan jumped, realizing that thoughts of Aria had distracted her from Tevos' question. "Yeah... bit of a crazy day, really. I'm not sure I should burden you with it."

"You could never be a burden, my friend," Tevos said softly, urging her to elaborate.

Morgan took another sigh before starting to speak. "It was my turn to pick Lita up from school this afternoon. We were almost half way back to the estate, when I suddenly noticed that she was sitting rather... oddly in the skycar, as if trying to hide something from me. I coaxed her to look at me, and noticed she had a bruise forming on her cheek and a scratched chin."

"Oh dear... did she get into a fight? That is not unheard of, even at such respectable school as Dilinaga's."

"Yeah, but she wouldn't tell me anything about it until I turned the skycar around and headed back to the school. I had to tell her that I'd speak with her teachers if necessary to find out what happened, only then did she finally come clean."

"Perhaps she was embarrassed? It is nothing to feel ashamed about, these things happen. I was not always the peacemaker you know me for, Morgan, I have gotten into my own share of fights during my maiden years," Tevos said with a smile, casually bringing her hand up to wipe the droplets of perspiration away from her breasts before taking another sip of the drink, the heat in the small wooden shack slowly starting to reach the proper levels.

"Well, she told me that they had some guest lecturer from Serrice University earlier that day. The visiting lecturer was doing some kind of presentation on asari history, and at the end of the lesson the students could ask questions. One student asked something about the Reaper War... and this SU bitch suddenly went on to rant how mine and Liara's achievements were completely overrated and blown out of proportion," Shepard explained sourly.

"What? That's... unthinkable, slanderous!" Tevos looked shocked, angry at Morgan's words.

"Well, Lita thought so as well. And our little angel is not exactly shy. She stood up from her seat and instead of asking a question, really laid into that Serrice professor, calling her a liar and… well, many worse names than that," Shepard grinned, mentally picturing her child standing up for their parents like that, her heart almost threatening to burst with pride and love.

"I can just imagine that the director of the school is horribly embarrassed about the incident," Tevos shook her head, looking displeased. "I can't imagine that she is very happy with that guest lecturer, speaking ill of you and Liara in front of your daughter."

"Yes, she called in to apologize on the behalf of the school almost immediately," Morgan nodded. "Liara spoke with her for almost over an hour. Gods, she was absolutely livid," she added, remembering the thundering, righteous anger of her bondmate. "Anyway, later Lita overheard one of her classmates repeating these lies and demanded that the other girl stopped saying bad things about her parents. I guess that little brat didn't listen, or otherwise Lita wouldn't have given her quite the pummeling. It was a decisive victory for House T'Soni."

"Well, I do not think they will be inviting that professor ever again," Tevos mused. "It is the first time I hear someone on Thessia being openly critical towards you or Liara, and frankly, I am very surprised. Do you know who this asari was?"

"Yes, Doctor Cyntria Kavani from the Department of Historical Sciences of SU," Morgan explained, gritting her teeth. "Liara and I have had some run-ins with her before. She was very critical of Liara's book about Protheans when it first released."

"So, it could be a petty professional rivalry?" Tevos ventured.

"I'm not sure... I mean, Liara's not exactly active in the academic circles right now," Morgan shrugged. "And… I don't know, for some reason she seemed more hostile towards me than to Liara, so I almost started to develop a feeling that it was somehow personal."

"How very peculiar," Tevos said, then falling silent, thoughtful for a moment as she took another mouthful of the nectar. "I still have some good friends in SU, Morgan. If you wish, I could speak with them and make Dr. Kavani's life rather uncomfortable. Perhaps even get her suspended."

"Hmm… no, I don't want that, at least not yet," Morgan shook her head. "It would be a little too petty. If she keeps this up, we will confront her directly. Besides, I do think there is more to this than meets the eyes."

"What makes you say so, my friend?"

"I don't know... it's just a gut feeling," Morgan smiled at Tevos. "She graduated from SU at around the same time as Liara, but my ever oblivious bondmate has difficulties recalling having interacted much with this Cyntria Kavani. I've been thinking... perhaps I should take a flight over to Serrice and poke around, maybe get some old surveillance vids or something, maybe someone remembers something... I wouldn't put it past Liara to forget some crucial detail of why this asari seems to dislike us so much."

"That sounds like a good idea, as long as you make sure that Dr. Kavani does not find out about your meddling," Tevos warned. "If she catches on, she will likely only become more hostile."

"Yeah... anyway, enough about our problems, I really didn't want to get back into this, even if it was bothering me still," Morgan sighed. "And listening to Liara ranting at the poor school director, it's not like she had expected Kavani to start lambasting us like that... well, it didn't help any. Liara is now considering a plan to write a new book, or a trilogy, to provide an accurate account of our adventures and the fight against the Reapers. She's even got a title for the books... _'Mass Effect'_. Sounds ridiculous, if you ask me."

"Well, I like it, and I would buy the books," Tevos laughed. "Liara is very talented, I loved her book on the Protheans."

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Morgan nodded. "You don't need to go out yet?" she asked her friend, wondering if the heat wasn't getting too much for the asari, but Tevos' had built up her endurance to admirable levels by now, shaking her head at Morgan to indicate that she could take more of this heat. "Well, suit yourself, because it's going to get a fair bit warmer," she grinned, grabbing a pitcher of water and pouring it over the heated rocks on the stove. Immediately, a cloud of steam rose to envelop them both, the sudden surge of heat making the pair let out tiny sighs of contentment, sweat starting to pour in streams down both asari and human skin.

"Goddess... this is so good..." Tevos gasped, as her body slowly grew accustomed to the increased heat.

"Mhm…" Morgan muttered, swallowing more and more of her drink, knowing how important it was to avoid becoming dehydrated. "So... you seem to be doing better lately, my friend," she turned to smile at Tevos. "Any plans for the future? We love having you here on Thessia the whole time, but you must be starting to miss the Council Chambers?"

"I feel ready to return to work, yes," Tevos replied without a moment of thought. "But Aria has convinced me that it would be smarter for me to take two more years off until the last waves of the unrest fade. In truth, I think her _considerate_ advice was guided by purely selfish want of having me here on Thessia, enjoying that she can always return and I would be there, waiting for her. And to tell you the truth, Morgan... my own selfish want is just fine with this arrangement... at least for a couple more years."

"Yeah, I guess I can see your point, after having to hide your union for so long, you must feel liberated having your relationship out in the open. I agree with Aria, take another couple of years off and just enjoy yourselves for a while, you've certainly earned it," Morgan said, Tevos nodding happily.

"Precisely how I thought of it," the asari agreed. "Of course, if Aria keeps getting called away by all these interventions, it becomes less enjoyable. But at least I have your company to enjoy instead, my friend."

"And I am very happy to accommodate," Morgan grinned, wiping perspiration away from her forehead, sweat beginning to pour into her eyes. "I've always wondered if Irissa will be happy to give you your old post back when you ask for her to step down..."

Tevos only responded with a chuckle, a confident and knowing laughter. "I doubt that she will be happy, but she will do so anyway," she explained. "She is too frightened of Aria to ever think of disobeying. And Aria makes sure to pay her a visit every few months now and then to drop a reminder that she is merely a temporary replacement." They fell silent for a moment, before Tevos continued. "But to be honest, she has done a good job. I am thinking of keeping her in my employ, and I hope that she will agree."

"Yes, she seems reasonably effective," Morgan nodded, finally getting up from the bench, starting to feel very drained, having possibly remained in the sauna for a bit too long. "But enough of that for now, we really should go out for a while," she said, taking Tevos' hand and pulling the asari up from the bench, Tevos also feeling a little exhausted and unsteady, her naked shape brushing lightly against Shepard as they both stumbled out of the wooden shack and into the cool air of Thessian night.

The work on the swimming pool nearby was still ongoing, and as such a dip in the cold water was not yet an option. Instead, they both simply lay down with their backs on the soft, cool and slightly itchy grass, watching the starry sky above, savoring that amazing and utterly relaxed, almost boneless feeling of their bodies.

"Where is Liara, Shepard?" Tevos asked, once they had moved back inside the sauna, having cooled off by resting in the soft grass, tickling the skin. "I had expected her to join us tonight, or is she already busy plotting out her books?"

"She was distracted by that, but then I also heard she intended to cut my hair, so I thought it would be a good idea to make myself scarce," Morgan chuckled before tossing a generous amount of water on the heated rocks, filling the cabin with steam again.

"Why, is there something wrong with your hair?" Tevos asked with concern. "It looks perfectly healthy to me. Can humans even develop hair-diseases? I must confess being ignorant of this... intriguing feature of your species, Morgan."

"Sure, there are hair diseases in humans, but that's not the case for me, it's just been growing a little too long and untidy," Shepard grinned, running a hand through her hair, starting to grow moist from the steam and perspiration again. "And yeah, I'm just amused about hair being so intriguing... I get that with like all the asari."

"Well, before humans burst onto the galactic scene, the only other species possessing hair similar to yours were the quarians, and not many amongst the asari remember how they looked, or had the chance of satisfy their curiosity by touch," Tevos said. "I had made friends with a daughter of a high ranking quarian diplomat stationed on Thessia before the Morning War. We... grew close, to the point where I was granted with the opportunity to explore the entirety of her body, not simply just her hair. It was decades before Aria, in case you were wondering."

"Is their hair really like human hair?" Morgan asked, feeling intrigued.

"I have not been so intimately familiar with any human to ask for permission to examine their hair beyond simple casual brushing against it," Tevos replied.

"Well, I'm happy to present my hair for your exploration, in the name of scientific comparison," Morgan laughed, leaning a little closer to Tevos and turning her head to allow her better access, feeling the asari quickly acting upon the invitation, running her slender fingers through her hair, brushing lightly against her scalp.

"Yes, it is so much finer than the quarian hair…" Tevos said sounding a little awed as she continued her tender examination, rubbing the sticky, moist strands of hair between her fingers. "Truly fascinating..."

Morgan let out a quiet sigh, too quiet for Tevos to hear, feeling slightly warmer and not just from the heat of the steam. Tevos might have been a close friend, but she was also an undeniably beautiful asari even by their own high standards and her well-practiced touch as she ran her fingers against Morgan's scalp felt highly sensual. Shepard closed her eyes and simply sat rigid, feeling the gentle increase of her arousal, the familiar tug of her swelling breasts, the light stiffening of the nipples, gritting her teeth to hide the effect Tevos' touch was having on her, not wanting to appear rude by batting her hand away.

Just then, before she could say anything, Morgan heard the doors of the cabin opening and a familiar figure stepping inside, Tevos quickly withdrawing her arm, but if Liara had noticed anything, her face failed to display any reaction to it, cerulean orbs focusing upon Morgan with a harsh stare. "I thought I would find you here, Shepard," she said, trying to sound stern, but not being very successful. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Umm... what took you so long?" Morgan flashed a crooked grin in return. "We've been waiting on you for a while to join us!"

"I might do that, yes, but do not think it means you are getting off lightly for sneaking away, Morgan," Liara chided, allowing the simple robe to fall from her shoulders with a practiced graceful gesture, the garment sliding down her generous, supple bosom and pooling at her feet, leaving the young maiden gloriously nude. If Tevos' casual stroking of her hair had ignited a slow flame within Morgan's body, then watching Liara undress and casually step out of her robe like this felt as if someone was applying flamethrower to the core of her entire being.

"Uh..." she could only manage, watching with awe as Liara strode up to them and gently squeezed between her and Tevos, the cooler asari skin a delightful contrast against Morgan's flesh. "Err... I forgot what I was going to say... in fact, my mind is completely blank after witnessing that. Umm... Tevos, help me out here..."

"Sorry, Shepard..." Tevos chuckled in reply. "But I can't help you with that."

"Aw, darn it," Morgan sulked, watching as Liara struggled to maintain her serious and superiorly arrogant expression, threatening to burst into girlish giggles. "Geez... I am so whipped..."


	32. Adorably Blind

**Chapter 32 – Adorably Blind**

_Year 2199 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

Kasumi Goto dropped down on her knees next to one of the dead bodies and carefully rolled it over, then proceeding to go over the belongings of the Shadow Broker agent. The turian had nothing on him that could further help Kasumi in her investigation, no belongings at all save for a fake ID that would lead her nowhere. Searching his two equally dead fellows, both of them salarians, yielded the same outcome, only succeeding at making her feel a little sick to the stomach. It was ridiculous, she knew that, and was angry at herself for it, but ever since Bau's passing, she often found herself struggling to kill salarian targets, a mental block that she knew she needed to overcome or else one day a slight hesitation might lead to her own demise.

_But that day won't be today,_ she told herself, leaving the bodies where they had collapsed and stepping away to search the rest of the abandoned docking bay that hadn't seen use ever since the Reaper War. For two years now, she and agents of the Shadow Broker had been playing this strange game of them shadowing her, trying to drop more and more attractive bait to lure her into one of their traps, while Kasumi on her part was desperately trying to find reasons for this strange and previously not witnessed MO of the Shadow Broker.

In the end, Kasumi had finally had enough. Impatience was an often-lethal mistake in her line of work, she knew that, but this ridiculous dance could not go on forever, she needed to know why the Broker was so obviously interested in her, and there was only one way for her to discover that. She needed to spring one of the traps that the Broker agents had set up for her, Kasumi feeling very confident that she would be able to deal with whatever surprises the enemy would throw at her.

_Though I have to admit, I did not quite anticipate this, _Kasumi mused, standing in front of an empty state-of-art cryo pod, loaded in one of the shuttles and prepared for use. _Was that... meant for me? _She wondered, running her gloved hand across the smooth transparent surface of the pod, already knowing the answer to her own question. _The place was rigged with dozens and dozens of traps, threatening to emit powerful nerve toxin that would have instantly paralyzed me. Some of those traps were truly... ingenious, I have to admit… I almost slipped on some of them._

And it wasn't just the traps that provided a clue regarding the intentions of her opponents. While examining their weaponry she came to find that almost everything employed by the ambushers was non-lethal, flashbang grenades, tranquilizing rounds for their weapons, effective stun batons for close range combat and omni-tools programmed with the most effective neural shock applications than she had ever seen. That she had managed to evade all those traps and overpower the three agents, armed to their teeth… that was the highest possible testament to her own ability. _Though, to be fair, this time Lady Luck was on my side as well. If only a single shot had grazed me... well, I'd now be unconscious, frozen inside that cryo pod, getting shipped to... yes, I really do wonder where I would be shipped to. _

Kasumi returned to the corpses, deciding to go over them one more time. No matter how much she hated the procedure, she could not simply discard hopes of having overlooked something during her preliminary examination. However, after half an hour of extensive search, she was forced to admit defeat, frustrated that her entire decision to spring the trap had provided her only with more questions, not giving her a single answer. _Well, I suppose that I now know that the Broker for some reason wants me alive... but why? I am not a target of a contract, because this chase has been going on for too long. If the Broker had been tasked to deliver me to someone else, they would have committed more resources to capturing me. I can hardly believe it, but it seems as if the Broker wants me as his personal prisoner, for some strange reason._ The realization was unpleasant and gave Kasumi little relief, the woman shuddering lightly as she considered the implications of this discovery.

_Does it mean that the Broker is someone I have aggrieved in the past? _She thought worriedly. _But who could it be? I have always been so careful, but of course I have stolen from many, and I have killed as well... or maybe the Broker just sees me as a threat for some reason? But regardless of the reason, I definitely do not want to be caught by his agents. This was way too close. No more careless springing of the traps, Kasumi, because the next time they will be even better prepared than they were this time. _

_And I definitely do not want to end up in the tender care of Shadow Broker, no matter who might hide behind that tacky name, _Kasumi thought as she opened a secure comm line to contact some of her Spectre colleagues and asked for their assistance in collecting the evidence from the scene of the crime and bringing it to the labs, in the vain hopes of finding at least some clues.

_Liara once told me that the Broker held and tortured her poor drell friend for almost two years... that's a damn scary thought. I know that Miri, Shep and Liara would come looking for me... but I don't want to tempt fate like that. No more risking like this, Kasumi... from now on, we play things safe..._

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

Spectre Morgan Shepard let out a frustrated sigh, looking at a large pile of unexamined data disks, covering the entire surface of one of the desks in what she had made into her personal study at the T'Soni Estate. She had already gone through another stack of vids, almost as numerous, filling up a huge crate by the desk she had set her equipment on, powerful processors armed with the most sophisticated software for facial recognition and ID scanning.

The head of security at the Serrice University had been deeply surprised when a Council Spectre had showed up at the early morning of an asari holiday and requested her aid in perusing the vast video footage archives. Truth be told, the asari commando had been fully accommodating without Shepard having to wave her Spectre status in her face, appearing rather flattered to be able to spend time with the famous Savior of the Galaxy. She had become very intrigued when Shepard revealed her interest to sort through the available video footage to select available files from Liara's last five years at SU, with the condition that these files featured both her and Cyntria Kavani. The head of security had inquired whether Dr. Kavani was suspected of any wrongdoing, but Morgan had instead asked the commando to keep such inquiries hidden from everyone, especially from Dr. Kavani.

Morgan hadn't been particularly surprised when it turned out that there was so much information that it required nearly twelve hours for the software to sort everything according to the preset conditions and then to make data copies for her to take back to Armali, forcing Morgan to rent a room at one of the hotels of Serrice City and stay overnight. It also made her deeply regret not having taken Liara along with her, as she walked around the nightly Serrice for a bit of leisurely sightseeing, most of the numerous asari in the streets recognizing her immediately, but only a few approaching her for a little chat, simply expressing gratitude or asking for something to be signed as a memento of meeting the famous Spectre Shepard.

Serrice was a beautiful city, much like Armali, but in a completely different way. Armali was first and foremost focused on promoting tourism, arts and culture, while Serrice prided itself in being the prime center of education across the Asari Republics. These two cities were considered to be the two northern jewels of Thessia, the three other prominent cities situated on the southern hemisphere, Daxus, the massive center of industry and technology, drawing the intellectual resources from the young geniuses graduating from the SU. There was also Xileia, the center of entertainment industry, including more adult forms of it, and as such it was the prime target to visit for anyone wishing to maintain the perception of the asari as highly promiscuous species. Finally, the smaller Katratzi served as a center of the impromptu government and a busy nexus of financial and bureaucratic establishments.

But the cities of the southern hemisphere had nothing on Armali or Serrice, Morgan was certain of it as she walked around the unusually narrow streets of the city center of Serrice, preserved remnants of the ancient times when the asari, much like many other species in the galaxy, had not known or possessed the freedom of the flight. The views were beautiful everywhere she looked, the city built almost at the height of four thousand feet in the mountainside, spectacular snowy peaks in every direction she looked. It made Morgan wonder about the time of several decades that Liara had spent in this city, throwing all her energy into her studies, trying to prove herself and her theories to her demanding professors. All this made Morgan resolve to return to Serrice soon, this time bringing Liara and Lita along with her, and allowing her bondmate to play their guide and reminisce in her memories of this beautiful city.

And now, back in Armali, it had taken her three days to get through approximately half of the vids that she had brought with her from Serrice. Her head was beginning to ache a little from the intense staring at the vid screen, and she could often hear Liara's words echoing in her head, voicing her disapproval at the whole venture, claiming that there was nothing to research about Cyntria's motivations, insisting that the other asari simply needed to be put in her place, possibly with the aid of biotic throws. Yet Morgan kept persisting with her research, despite what Liara might have thought of it, and after watching dozens and dozens more vids in the evening of the third day, a much more clearer and at the same time, more complicated picture began to emerge in the view.

"Are you coming to bed soon?" as if on cue, Liara's head shot through the gap in the doors to regard her with mild exasperation. "I already put Lita to sleep. She was a little upset that you wouldn't come and wish her goodnight."

"Aww, geez, it's that late already?" Morgan sighed. "Damn it... she's asleep already, I take it?"

"That she is," Liara nodded. "And my patience is stretched a little thin right now, so I would advise you not to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you think about this venture, but I've actually found something important," Morgan scowled at her skeptical looking bondmate. "Now, if you'd care to step inside and come see a few shots that I have marked down..."

Liara grumbled under her breath, but entered the study all the same. "To be honest, Morgan, I find all this browsing through the security vids a little..."

"Creepy?" Morgan grinned, watching Liara nod slowly. "Oh boy, be glad that you're no longer the Shadow Broker, missy, or else I could have called you out on being hypocritical. Still, I don't think this investigation measures up to being the Galactic Peeping Tom for almost a year!"

"Peeping... Tom?" Liara blinked, before shaking her head. "I do not know what you are talking about, Shepard. But... your point is well made," she conceded reluctantly.

"Anyway, just take a look at some of these vids," Morgan impatiently reached out and pulled Liara a little closer to the screens, forcing her to watch the prepared recordings, one after another. "Well?" she asked, turning towards her bondmate. "Did you notice it too?"

"Hmm?" Liara looked a little confused, giving Shepard an odd stare. "It was... very strange and a little disconcerting to see the younger version of myself sitting there. It brought back... all sorts of memories."

"Well... I'm sorry if those were unpleasant, but I kind of hoped that you would notice something else as well," Morgan sighed, shaking her head ruefully. "Fine, let's take the next one more slowly and we'll go through everything captured there together," she said, starting the next vid, pausing and enlarging the image. "Tell me, what do we have here?"

"That's me, in the front row," Liara quickly pointed at a cute young maiden, her hand almost permanently raised whenever the teacher addressed the class with any questions. "And that's Professor Trellesa, so these should be either short courses on the asari history or those of the other Council races."

"Okay, that's not really so important... what I want to know is, can you spot Cyntria anywhere in the classroom?" Morgan asked.

"Hmm, let me see... yes, I think she's over here," Liara pointed at another student sitting in the row behind her, several seats to the left.

"So, you're attention seems to be focused on the professor, trying to absorb every word she is saying, am I right?" Shepard continued, Liara again nodding quickly. "Can you tell me what Cyntria is doing?"

"She... seems to be looking outside the window. If I am perfectly honest, Professor Trellesa's lectures could sometimes be somewhat... dull, I can understand her being a little bored," Liara admitted with a smile.

"Out of the window, uh-huh," Morgan said, groaning inwardly, as she quickly scrolled the recording twenty minutes in time ahead. "Now tell me what you and Cyntria are both doing."

"Well... I seem to be still intently listening to the professor... and so is Cyntria... oh no, wait, her head is turning towards the window again. As I told you, Shepard, this lecture must have not been particularly interesting."

"Obviously," Morgan muttered under her breath, advancing the vid thirty-five minutes forward. "Okay, tell me what's happening now."

"It seems as if the lecture has ended and all the students are getting ready to leave," Liara explained, looking at her classmates rushing out of the lecture hall impatiently. "Ah... oh dear, I dropped my datapad. That... happened a great deal to me in those days, before training with Shiala and the commandos I was a little... shall we say, occasionally clumsy?" she added with a shy smile, then suddenly looking upset from watching the vid where one of her fellow students intentionally kicked away her datapad just as she was bending down to pick it up from the ground. "Oh... yes, the usual treatment of a pureblood, I'm afraid... I received that a lot, Shepard."

"I noticed. Really pissed me off," Morgan snarled angrily. "But wait, just watch what happens now," she pointed back at the vid.

"Hey! Someone walked over there and brought that datapad back to me!" Liara smiled broadly. "That was really nice of them, I don't even remember this happening!"

"And who was that?" Morgan asked, freezing the frame, Liara gratefully accepting the datapad from a fellow student.

"Oh... that's... her? That was Cyntria..." Liara whispered, looking completely flabbergasted. "But... I thought she couldn't stand me!"

"Well, I have another vid that might shed even more light on what's going on here," Morgan said, opening another recording. "Tell me what's going on here," she urged Liara to explain.

"That's the central hallway connecting the main wings of the SU," Liara said, quickly recognizing the surroundings. "It stretched quite a long way and I remember that when we needed to get from a lecture in one wing to the next one in the other, we sometimes really needed to dash like mad through this hallway. It was... fun, but sometimes a little dangerous! Oh... and there's me, coming down the hallway now!"

"Yes... and I really hate what's going to happen next," Morgan ground out angrily, watching another student suddenly sticking out their leg and tripping Liara, forcing the young maiden to crash heavily on the floor, datapads and personal belongings flying in every direction.

"I... that happened so very often that I have erased all these... incidents from my memory," Liara replied quietly, not putting up any resistance when Morgan quickly reached out and pulled Liara to sit in her lap, wrapping the asari in a comforting embrace.

"Wish I could go back in time and punch these bullies in the face," Morgan hissed, watching the younger Liara crawling around the floor and picking up her belongings, expression of pain and hurt etched on her face, but she still refused to show any reaction towards her attackers, simply picking up her things and then proudly walking away, chin raised. "But... just watch what happens now..."

"By the goddess..." Liara whispered, her eyes widening as she watched someone suddenly falling on the other students and beginning to mercilessly pummel them, the bullies screaming and running away as fast as they could. "That asari just... took out a group of five of the meanest and nastiest bullies in the SU! I wondered why they stopped harassing me at some point!"

"And who was that asari, again?" Morgan asked, freezing the frame with a dark blue skinned maiden's fist connecting with the nose of one of the bullies.

"It's... Cyntria Kavani," Liara exclaimed, sounding shocked. "Morgan, this does not make any sense at all, why... why would she do this? Were they perhaps harassing her as well? Yes, that must have been it!"

_My god, she's really... a brilliant scientist, but just not very bright about these things, is she? _Morgan sighed inwardly, pulling up one last vid. "Alright, I think this should clear up all the doubts," she said, selecting the next recording, showing a wall covered with personal lockers in another hallway, the younger version of Liara standing next to one of the lockers and sorting through a stack of various datapads.

"Okay, I guess this is already after all the lectures, I'm putting some of the datapads away and withdrawing others that I will need for my homework," Liara mused, watching the scene unfolding before them. "Someone's approaching me, probably another bully... no wait, that's her, isn't it? That's Cyntria Kavani. She's... starting to talk to me... and I'm saying something in return. Hey... it looks as if she's offering something to me? I smile and shake my head... did I decline something? And now I'm closing my locker and walking away... can't remember what we talked about, but it probably wasn't anything interesting, Morgan."

"And what's happening now?" Shepard asked as the recording continued after the younger Liara had left the scene. Cyntria's head was hanging dejectedly, her body slumping heavily against the lockers as she slid down on the floor, her shoulders shaking as she continued to numbly stare at the two small chit-like objects in her hand.

"Goddess, she is crying!" Liara sounded very upset, having seen the vid. "But... but why, I surely would not have said anything rude or insulting to her, or anyone, not even to those who bullied me! She... she looks really hurt, Morgan... why is this happening?"

"Well, I have an idea, but it would be really helpful if you could remember what you were talking with her about," Morgan replied. "Is there no way that you can force yourself to recall this memory?"

"I think I could, if we melded our consciousnesses," Liara said thoughtfully. "Would you like me to meld with you?"

"Do it, Liara," Morgan said quickly, readying herself for the by now familiar pull into the deepest recesses of Liara's mind, various different catalogued memories flipping by her at great speed, almost making her dizzy, until the stream of memories finally slowed down, focusing on one specific event, Morgan and Liara both feeling themselves standing in the hallway of the Serrice University as if they were invisible, seeing the younger versions of Liara T'Soni and Cyntria Kavani before them.

_'Umm... hi, Liara,' Cyntria spoke, a little hesitantly, as she approached her fellow student, not wanting to startle the understandably jumpy T'Soni girl. _

_'Oh...' as always Liara appeared so amusingly flustered whenever someone chose to speak to her, as if she hadn't expected such honor. 'Hey... uh, Cyntria, right?' _

_'That's right,' Cyntria nodded happily. 'So, uh... looking forward to the long weekend? Four free days, isn't it great?' _

_'Err... I suppose,' Liara nodded reluctantly. 'Actually... I would have probably preferred to attend my classes instead of having the time off. But... I have a lot of neglected projects to catch up with!' her eyes lit up with excitement. _

_'Hey... you don't need to study all the time, do you? Can't be good for you!' Cyntria chuckled awkwardly, Liara regarding her with a stare that spoke of clear disagreement on this particular issue. 'Anyway... just wanted to ask... you going away for holiday or staying at the SU?' _

_'I... I'm staying at Serrice. As always,' Liara added, a little bitterly. _

_'So am I,' Cyntria smiled shyly. 'I was thinking... Expel 10 are coming to do a show in Serrice tomorrow evening and I-' _

_'Expel 10?' Liara blinked, Cyntria's face immediately falling a little. _

_'Yeah... they're that really famous asari band? You haven't heard about them?' Cyntria asked, sounding bewildered and disbelieving, but Liara simply shook her head in reply. 'Well... they're really good... and I have two tickets for the show... so I was wondering... maybe you'd like to... come with me?' _

_'Uh... I... I don't know...' Liara looked surprised and undecided. 'I'm... not sure, I mean, there would be a lot of people, right?' Cyntria nodded sullenly. 'And it would be really loud, yes?' another dejected, doomed nod followed. 'I'm just... not very good in crowds. I'm sorry... it's... awfully sweet of you to offer, Cyntria, but I just wouldn't be good company. I hope you can find someone else who wants to go, though!' Liara smiled at Cyntria, before pushing past her and walking away, carrying a stack of datapads. _

Liara ended the meld quickly after that, burying her head in Morgan's chest. "Goddess, I... I turned her down, just like that... and I don't even know why! I don't think I actually understood what she was offering! She was... interested in me... you know, as in dating, wasn't she?"

"Uh... yes? That was kind of... obvious?" Morgan sighed quietly.

"Well, not to me, apparently," Liara groaned. "How... how could I be so blind? At the very least, I could have let her down more gently... but I really hurt her, didn't I? I broke her heart without even knowing it... that was... very cruel of me. It is no wonder that she ended up hating me..."

"Umm, babe, I'm pretty sure that you're **still** reading it all wrong," Morgan said, shaking her head.

"Of course she hates me," Liara stated fiercely. "I am such a fool. _'What is Expel 10?'_" she repeated in a mocking tone. "At the very least I could have just gone to that show with her and then discouraged her from more romantic thoughts... goddess, I could have done with at least one good and loyal friend during those days, and I just... pushed her away? Goddess, I really am an idiot, aren't I?"

"C'mon, don't be so hard on yourself, you were just a young bookworm who didn't know anything about romance and stuff like that," Morgan tightened her embrace on her bondmate. "We've all made foolish, embarrassing mistakes like that in our youth."

"Maybe... I suppose you're right. But... damn it, didn't she say that her family was really poor and they could barely make ends meet just to send her to SU? Those tickets to Expel 10 must have cost a fortune! And I just... ripped her heart out and walked all over it... oh goddess..." Liara began to sob, Morgan quickly pressing the asari's head against her chest, holding her tightly and gently stroking her crest as she wept, finally coming to stop.

"I figured that there was more to this story, and I was right... even if discovering it brought you no joy, maybe it will help us going forward," Morgan said quietly.

"Yes... yes, I agree, you... you did the right thing," Liara sniffled, pulling away from Morgan's chest, the rims around her eyes darkened from crying. "This changes everything. It is no wonder that she has acted like that towards me... and instead of reacting violently, perhaps there is something I can do to reconcile..."

"You still have it all wrong, Liara," Morgan shook her head. "I don't think Cyntria hates you at all."

"But... but how can you say that?" Liara gasped. "After the things she said about me during that lecture at Dilinaga's! And while our daughter was in the audience, no less!"

"Uh, I actually pulled a recording of her speech," Morgan said. "She barely even mentioned you. Almost all her ire was aimed at me, trying to derail my accomplishments and you were just mentioned in passing as someone on my team. I told you that the same thing happened when she came to visit us after posting that scathing review about your book. She seemed to be cordial to you, but very vicious towards me. And there can only be one explanation for that, Liara."

"Umm... that explanation being..." Liara said, looking adorably confused.

"That she's simply not over the crush she had on you, Liara," Morgan gently explained. "And that she feels as if I have stolen you from her. She looks to be insanely jealous and hateful towards me, but she still tries to shield you as much as she can while trying to degrade me."

"But... but..." Liara stammered. "But the book review! She was quite nasty towards me in that little outbreak of hers! You are wrong, you have to be wrong, she must hate me!"

"Uh, that's pretty easy to explain as well, Li, honey," Morgan chuckled, shaking her head again. "She needed to attract your attention, she needed to get noticed. What better way than to post a negative review of your book?"

Liara opened her mouth to argue further, but no words came out, the young asari finally giving up and collapsing against Shepard's chest with a frustrated groan. "Yep... I know exactly how this must feel, love," Morgan said gently, hugging her bondmate tightly. "But well... no point in agonizing about it now. Let's just go to bed... and hopefully by the morning we'll think of some better ideas on how to deal with this mess..."


	33. Shiny Example Of Parenting Or Not

**Chapter 33 – Shiny Example Of Parenting... Or Not**

_Year 2200 CE  
New Arc, Arcturus Stream _

"Jonathan? Jonathan, let's keep this brief, I have way too much on my schedule today," Katherine Hock spoke on the secure comm line, linking her office to one of the many hideouts of her occasionally irritating sibling Jonathan, also currently serving as the Shadow Broker.

"Yes, Madame Prime Minister, as your highness desires," Jonathan Hock replied, a little mockingly, and Katherine found herself scowling deeply at his tone. The relationship between the two had been a little tense ever since Katherine had given her brother a severe reprimand over the lack of success in trapping the ever-elusive Spectre Kasumi Goto, one of the two people responsible for the death of their father.

"Don't give me that crap, Jonathan, not today," she snapped irritably, nodding at her brother's hastily mumbled apology. "Right now, we have bigger targets to concern ourselves with than miss Goto. We will get around to dealing with her in due time… and since, as I mentioned, we are dealing with more serious issues here, it is clear that I cannot simply entrust you with full responsibility in this matter. No, this time I must take a more active part in the planning or we will undoubtedly taste defeat once more."

"How kind of you to remind me of my failures with every sentence, my kind, loving and forgiving sister," Jonathan added sweetly.

"Indeed, I am such a darling, aren't I?" Katherine chuckled, twirling a lock of her brown strands. "In any case, I asked for a status report, and I am still yet to receive it. Explain the delays, Jonathan."

"There are no delays, sister. I simply did not send you the report on time because I take petty enjoyment in causing you slight frustration," Jonathan laughed in reply. "Our people got onboard of the SSV Gallipoli during their stop at Terra Nova."

"And the gear-"

"Ugh, I should be insulted! Of course they smuggled the gear with them as well," Jonathan sighed, sounding tired at the continued manner in which his sister relegated him to the role of an incompetent underling. "We had to take everything apart to the slightest component to avoid detection, though. It's going to take a while for them to put that thing together again."

"Well, then it is fortunate for you that Hackett's grand tour of promoting love and togetherness across the whole galaxy won't arrive in Arcturus Stream for almost two months," Katherine said. "I have the schedule right here, and they are still to hit… hmm, Ferris Fields, Fehl Prime, Horizon… and a whole host of the smaller settlements after that… whoever charted this route certainly didn't leave anything out. And after that, they should be on their way to Benning and New Arc. Everything should be in place by then."

"Still can't believe that we're actually doing this…" Jonathan sounded minutely hesitant.

"You do realize that this is what it was all about when we started on this path many years ago, yes?" Katherine asked with hard, cold edge to her voice. "There is no time for hesitation and doubts, because if you are not-"

"No, I don't have any doubts," Jonathan spoke up quickly. "It's just… talking about it was one thing. To actually do it… I mean… to assassinate a councilor… it's something entirely different…"

"All the same to me," Katherine shrugged. "Hackett is standing in my way, and he's being an old and stubborn fool, opposing our plans. We need to arrange for his hasty exit from the scene. It's all very clear and straightforward as far I'm concerned."

"Don't tell me that it doesn't feel even a little… weird for you, I mean, you speak to the man at least twice every week… it can't be as easy as you make it sound."

"You obviously have forgotten just how… driven I can be, when I sense the cherished goal within my grasp, brother dear," Katherine Hock smirked cruelly. "Regardless of how I feel about Councilor Hackett, there is nothing that would stop me from going through with this plan. And his… bumbling, indecisive, peace promoting attitude to galactic politics is costing humanity every day. It's not just for ourselves that I do this, Jonathan."

"Yes, yes, greater good and all that," Jonathan remarked casually. "It just seems odd to me, the things you've been telling me about your new best friends amongst the Alliance Command. I mean… we're talking about some of Hackett's oldest colleagues. Can you really be sure that they're not setting you up for a fall, Kat? Would they really let their old friend be killed like that, together with hundreds of good marines aboard of the Gallipoli?"

"Do you really think I would leave this kind of thing to chance?" Katherine hissed angrily. "I've ran extensive scans on each and every of them, McIllis, Willoughby, Stefanowicz. Everything checks out, Jonathan. They have legitimate reasons for wanting Hackett out of his seat because the Systems Alliance is choking under his peace-loving leadership. There's nothing that stimulates growth like a little conflict now and then, and the hands of the Alliance are cuffed if the galaxy sinks into a peaceful lull."

"Uh... yeah, whatever," Jonathan muttered, obviously not too impressed about his sister's explanation. "Anyway, I've done my part in this. I've put the agents on the Gallipoli, together with the gear, and now I'll do what I can to remove any traces of my involvement in this. Time to wash my hands of this whole ugly mess."

"What ugly mess, Jonathan?" Katherine asked, using her best innocent voice. "SSV Gallipoli will be destroyed in a tragic accident, due to its mass effect drive malfunctioning during the relay jump to Arcturus Stream. The experts assure me that there will be nothing left to hint at a sabotage, so you may rest your fears easily, brother."

"Well... I hope it's as certain as you claim it to be. I have a... bad feeling about this."

"Will you relax, already?" Katherine chided, before breaking into a melodic laughter. "I just thought of something. New Arc has some comfortable VIP suites with a wonderful view at the relay. I think that when the time comes, I will rent one and bring plenty of champagne and hors d'oeuvres with me as I sit there and simply... enjoy the fireworks in the sky..."

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

"Can you see her, Shiala?" Morgan asked, waving her arms and peering towards the corridor emptying into the large hall, groups of young asari currently jogging through and emerging into the view. Her eyes were chained to one of the groups in particular, students dressed in the bright orange and yellow colors of Dilinaga Primary School.

"Yes, there she is, Shepard," Shiala replied, sitting next to her in the stands, crowded with spectators, most of them friends and families of the students, competing in the various sporting contests scheduled for this traditional annual competition between several of the more prominent and respected schools of Thessia. "Wave away, she's looking straight at us!"

Shepard didn't need to be told, though, already having spotted her daughter amongst the other students, looking tough, serious and determined even as she waved in return, having noticed her father and Shiala amongst the gathered crowd. "She looks very... focused," Morgan said, smiling as she shook her head lightly.

"Well... I think she takes after both of her parents in that," Shiala grinned in return. Morgan simply nodded, knowing that the commando leader was correct. Even while growing up, Lita had been a more serious and contemplative child than most of her hyperactive peers, and Morgan put that down not only to the genetics, but also to Liara's influence through their melds with her daughter, imparting some of her calm, dignified, serious and determined manner onto the child. The fact that Lita had to study more diligently, spend more time practicing biotics, and fight harder for her place amongst her peers, it all had made the young asari child even more driven, often making Morgan worried that they were pushing Lita too hard.

"I would like for her to relax a bit more," Morgan replied with a short sigh. "I hoped that doing some sports would help with that, but somehow she found a way to push herself there as well..." Lita had applied for the school's junior skyball team, though at her age group the game resembled professional skyball only remotely. Her daughter had worked hard and relentlessly to try and earn her place, but what had really stunned Morgan was Lita's reaction upon being told that she had been included on the team. There had barely been any joy at all, just a simple nod and a light smile, as if she had not expected any other outcome. Even now, as the Dilinaga team ran out on the pitch and began warm-up exercises, Lita barely spared a look in their direction, save for that one glance and brief wave, the girl busy with focusing on the task ahead of her, almost making Morgan think that she herself hadn't looked this serious and determined before facing the Reapers in the final battle.

"I've heard that the other team hasn't lost for twenty-three straight games," Shiala remarked, watching the opposing team also going through their own pre-game routine. "The First Serrice Gymnasium. Bunch of self-conceited snobs if you ask me, Shepard. In my day, we literally massacred them on the field... let's hope that this will be the day when the Armali City reverses the recent run of form!"

"If those girls are all as determined as Lita, then they should be just fine," Morgan smiled. "Your honest opinion, Shiala, how good is she in her new position?"

"Shepard, let me just tell you one thing... if we had a goalie like her back in my day, we'd have gone for record win stretches longer than the Serrice Gymnasium, that's for sure," Shiala spoke earnestly. "I know she was feeling down about being dropped from the forward role, but this will work out for the best, you'll see. She's physically stronger and tougher than most girls her age. That doesn't surprise me, considering how much time she spends outdoors, on physical activities."

Morgan nodded, remembering how upset Lita had been when the coach had informed her that she would be relegated to the less glorious position of the last line of defense, having been so hopeful to make it as a forward. Her lack of biotics had worked against her, though, and there was nothing to be done about that.

The rules of the game were rather simple, each team aiming to guide the ball into the opposing team's goal by the use of biotic pushes and throws. To carry the ball by taking it physically in hand was forbidden, and each team was allowed to either string together a maximum of twelve passes before having to make the shot. The other factor limiting the attacking team was that they could only retain possession of the ball for thirty seconds. The shot needed to be taken from the outside of a semi-circle with a radius of roughly fourteen yards, a rule designed to basically give the goalies the slightest chance to catch the frighteningly quickly flying ball. The opposing team were allowed to block the passes and shots by biotic barriers, and if they did not succeed to prevent the attackers, then it was all up to the last line of defense in the shape of the goalie, who was not allowed to use any biotics, making it a perfect position for someone like Lita, physically strong, very agile and coordinated, but lacking on the side of the biotics.

By the time, Shepard was done reminding herself of all the fairly simply rules of the game, the contest had already started, the Dilinaga Primary and Serrice Gymnasium going hard at it, the ball whizzing from one side of the pitch to the other, accompanied by loud _'ooohs'_ and _'aaahs'_ of the gathered impressed spectators. Morgan could not help but to feel a bit sorry for Lita and all the goalies playing the game. Once a shot got through the biotic barriers, it was generally struck so fiercely that the goalie stood very little chance in catching the ball. It came down to simple instincts, positioning and some degree of luck, and Morgan couldn't help but feel incredibly impressed about some of the saves that Lita had pulled off, almost a natural at anticipating the angles of the shot and putting her lithe body in the way of the ball.

By the time the halfway whistle came, both teams found themselves deadlocked, 13-all, with Lita having made four or five blocks that had earned standing ovations. The opposing team's goalie was having a much easier time of it because the team in front of her was doing a lot better job at protecting their zone with the biotic barriers, while the Armali team was less good at that.

Understandably, all of the Dilinaga team, coaches included, crowded Lita as they walked off the pitch and back to the dressing rooms, patting her on the back for the outstanding effort of keeping them in the game, but to Shepard it seemed like her little girl was not really paying much attention to the praise, already mentally preparing herself for the next stage of the grand battle.

Shiala had sneaked off during the break to purchase some refreshments and snacks for herself and Shepard, leaving Morgan alone for a moment, with nothing to do but study the crowds of spectators around her. She was rather surprised to see such a big turnout for what was just basically a little contest between some rivaling schools, but it seemed as if to many it seemed to matter a huge deal, lots and lots of former graduates turning up to support and cheer for their old school. There were plenty of Serrice supporters in their green, white and purple tricolor jerseys, sitting in the opposite stands to Shepard and already celebrating their inevitable victory, Morgan hoping that their revelry would be cut short at the end of the second and final stanza.

At some point, Shepard became aware of someone watching her intently from the opposite stands, Morgan peering and trying to identify the asari staring at her, but Shiala chose that very moment to return and force Morgan to abandon her attempts at recognizing the asari in the Serrice-tricolored robes. "Hey, Shepard, that's the scientist who's been getting on your and Liara's nerves, isn't it?" Shiala remarked casually, staring into the crowds as she passed a bag of snacks to Morgan. "Cyntria… something, right?"

"Damn… yeah, that's her, I recognize her now," Morgan suddenly realized, almost dropping the bag from surprise. "Well, I guess it's not too shocking, she lives in Serrice, after all. Maybe she's a former graduate or something," Shepard mused, but her questions seemed to be answered when the Serrice team girls emerged from the dugouts again, Cyntria calling to one of the students and beckoning her over, the girl responding and running over to the stands, listening to Cyntria quickly starting to explain something to her. "Or… maybe her daughter is on the opposing team. In that case, I really hope that the Armali team comes through."

"She looks a little too young to ha-" Shiala started, then cutting herself short and blushing a little. "Uh… yeah, I just remembered about Liara. I'll shut up now."

"Heh, indeed," Morgan chuckled, turning her attention away from Cyntria, noticing that the Armali team was reemerging as well, using the opportunity to wave to Lita, smiling when she saw the kid waving back, still not allowing herself as much as a smile.

"Hmm," Shiala muttered, popping one of the sweetened snacks into her mouth, the taste reminding Morgan a little of marshmallows. "Wonder what's up with that." Morgan gave her a questioning stare. "Just saw Dr. Kavani pointing towards Lita when speaking with that kid of hers."

Morgan shrugged, not sure what to make of it. "Maybe just providing some additional motivation? Beat Shepard's daughter and receive a bucket of ice cream… or well, that weak asari equivalent of it. Anyway, let's just watch on, I have full trust that Lita's going to kick their butts."

The game continued to ebb and flow much in the same way as it had done in the first half, Lita's acrobatic and sometimes just plain lucky dives allowing the Dilinaga Primary to keep their nose in front, until fifteen seconds from time a fault was called against the Armali Team, leading by the score of 26 to 25. The Serrice Gymnasium coach immediately jumped on the chance to ask for a timeout, frantically explaining the tactics she wanted her team to use on this last opportunity to draw level. Meanwhile, the home team coach did her best to try and predict the plans of the opponents, Lita remaining back in the goal crease, stretching and jumping to keep herself warm.

"Hmm, what is she up to now?" Shiala wondered, Morgan also looking at the Serrice supporters to notice that Cyntria had called her daughter over again, giving the young girl instructions of her own, once again pointing at Lita in the Armali team's goal. The young asari seemed to be shaking her head at whatever her mother was telling her, finally retreating with slumped shoulders and looking unhappy. "That was a strange moment for backseat coaching there, Shepard. I can't imagine the coach would have been pleased if she had noticed that."

"Yeah… wonder what she told her kid," Morgan agreed, watching the proceedings nervously, the Serrice girls taking their positions as the ball was about to be put back into the play, the Armali team lining up to counter.

"Ah, damn it, I know this move and our girls have lined up all wrong for it," Shiala cursed. "They're going to play two or three passes back and then play a long ball into the open channel on the other side… Cyntria's kid is going to have a clear run at the goal. Lita's good, but that's going to be a shot from very close range… not sure she can make that save…"

"Fuck, that bitch is going to be so smug…" Morgan muttered, watching the Serrice girls quickly play the ball exactly in the very pattern that Shiala had described, first cutting back and then putting Cyntria's child straight through with a clear, short-range shot at the goal. The soft ball cut through the air with great speed, but… much to the raucous cheer of the jubilant, victorious crowd, it never reached the back of the net, the ball blocked on its path by the courageous goalie. However… what only a few in the crowd had noticed was that Lita had not as much as made the save, but the fiercely shot ball had struck her smack dab in the face, knocking her on the ground, dazed and struggling to get up.

Morgan was immediately up on her feet, but not to join the crowd in celebrating. The spectators only slowly began to realize that Lita might have been hurt on the play when Shepard was already cutting through their ranks to reach her daughter, Shiala right at her side. The medical staff was on the scene immediately, pushing Lita's concerned teammates and fellow students aside, the asari doctor and her assistant already checking up on her daughter by the time Morgan herself arrived on the scene. Everything had happened so quickly that Shepard hadn't even had the time to become properly worried, but then she was already bent down on her knees next to the medics, watching one of them wipe away a tiny trickle of blood under Lita's slightly swollen lower lip, the other holding a little bag with pungent, acrylic smell under the girls nose, her eyes snapping open immediately, Lita trying to rise and the medics having to hold her down by the shoulders before making sure that it was safe for the girl to get up.

"She'll be alright, just a little winded," one of the medics smiled at Shepard encouragingly, having patched up the small cut on the girl's lip. "And, uh… a tooth short, I'm afraid…"

"I thwallowed it…" Lita mumbled, still looking at little dazed on the grass.

"Ouch," Morgan winced inwardly, "Still, my kid is tough, because she's a Shepard-T'Soni," she told the asari nurse, before looking down at a now slightly impatient looking daughter of hers. "All that said, I'd appreciate if she didn't scare me like that…"

"What's the big deal, anyway," Lita grumbled, even if she still looked a little out of sorts. "We won... didn't we?"

"That you certainly did," the other asari medic replied, allowing Lita to slowly get up to sitting position. "Serrice Gymnasium's winning streak has been snapped! All thanks to you, young lady."

"Yeah, and you know what that means, kid," Shepard grinned. "Tonight, we go out to celebrate, the entire family... and you get to pick the place."

"Yay!" Lita cheered, a broad smile finally appearing on her lips. "Um..." she added a while later, having made an attempt to rise, only to discover that her legs were still shaky and jelly-like. "Can I just... sit here for a bit more?"

"Just lay down until the doctors tell you it is safe to get up," Morgan smiled at her daughter. _Just as stubborn and impatient as her mommy, really. Not at all a paragon of wisdom and temperance as her daddy,_ she chuckled to herself, getting back up to her feet, feeling Shiala poking her on the shoulder.

"Shepard," the commando leader whispered urgently as Morgan turned to face her. "This wasn't just an accident. That girl had the entire empty goal to aim at and then she somehow directs the ball right at Lita's face? No way, I've seen her make half-dozen harder shots earlier in the game."

"Well... it was a do or die moment, last shot of the game, maybe she just choked?" Shepard ventured.

"I don't think so... look," Shiala said, stepping aside and letting Morgan observe the scene behind her. The Serrice coach was protectively hovering over Cyntria's child, the young asari looking pale and utterly sickened, the coach helping her clean up a little, the girl having spent some time throwing up from the shock. "Shepard, I think her mother put her up to this. I can scarcely believe how stupid it sounds, but... I think that's what she told her to do during that time-out!"

"I can't believe anyone would-" Morgan started to speak in disbelief, her stare travelling to the Serrice supporter stand, her eyes locking with Cyntria's for a mere moment... but it was enough to realize that Shiala had been correct. The asari's face was twisted in a myriad of emotions, shock, dismay, fear, regret, but Shepard's swiftly rising anger did not allow her to care one bit whether Cyntria was regretting it already or not. "Goddamn it, Shiala... you're right, she did it... what the fuck is wrong with that asari? Putting her own child up to... I just... words fail me..."

"We should do something about this, Shepard," Shiala said resolutely, both of them watching Cyntria in the stands, pale as a frozen statue, before the asari sharply spun around and quickly made a run for it. "She won't leave without her child. I'm going to track her down, Shepard. Stay with Lita and we'll keep in touch on the omni."

"Alright, Shiala, just don't lose her," Shepard said angrily. "I definitely want to exchange a few... words with the illustrious Dr. Kavani. I can't just ignore what she did... but we'll have to separate her from the child, I don't want to traumatize the kid even more, her own mother did a very good job at that."

"I'll try to think of something," Shiala nodded. "She's seen us together, and I rather stand out in the crowd, but I have a few acquaintances here that I could call in to provide a distraction. Don't worry, Shepard, I won't let her get away, you can count on me."

It took some very careful arrangements regarding timing on Shiala's part to eventually put everything in place to spring the trap on Dr. Kavani. Just as Morgan had brought a very exuberant and happy looking Lita back to their skycar, Shiala's call came, urging her to get to the other skycar lot two floors below the one where they had left their skycar. Having distracted Lita by putting one of her Blasto videos to play on the skycar vid screen, Morgan quickly rushed to the nav point that Shiala had sent to her.

She could hear Cyntria's voice coming from below as soon as she stepped onto the stairs leading to the lower skycar lot, the doctor complaining about something to another asari whose voice Morgan did not recognize, figuring that it had to be the help that Shiala had recruited on short notice. _'Don't come down, Shepard, we'll get her to go upstairs. Just stay where you are and wait,'_ Shiala sent to her omni-tool.

"Couldn't you just send us the award later?" Cyntria grumbled, being asked by the other asari to go back and retrieve the best player of the match award on the Serrice team, finally giving in when the asari posing for the representative of the Dilinaga Primary did not relent. "Fine, fine... yes, I heard the directions, upstairs and straight ahead, thank you," the scientist snapped irritably, then quickly running upstairs as Shepard froze in anticipation.

_'Incoming. Just relax, Shepard, I'm covering the exits,' _there was just enough time to receive one more message from Shiala, before the footsteps on the stairs came closer and closer, Cyntria darting around the corner and immediately noticing Shepard standing on the steps above her, arms crossed on her chest, staring at the asari and looking deeply unimpressed. "Oh no! Damn it, I am such an idiot..." the young scientist muttered, growing pale from fear as she turned around and was about to run, almost crashing into Shiala who had appeared out of nowhere to cut off the exit.

"Going somewhere, Doctor?" Shiala asked, then quickly treating Cyntria to a light backhanded slap across the face, harsh enough to knock the younger asari off her feet. As Cyntria struggled to get up, Shiala quickly pointed towards a nearby door, leading away from the fairly open view on the stairs and back into the main facility. "Over there, Shepard. I'll get the door open in a moment, bring her over."

Cyntria somehow managed to find her voice, as Morgan roughly pulled her up from the ground and dragged her towards the entrance into the dark access corridor. "Please... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm really sorry!" she wailed, struggling to break loose, but Shepard did not yield, pushing Dr. Kavani through the doors, Shiala grabbing her and pulling the other asari inside the dark corridor. "Help! Someone, help! HE-" Cyntria's shouts died quickly when Shiala threw a small but perfectly aimed punch at her midsection, leaving the doctor slumped against the wall, gasping for breath.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Kavani?" Morgan hissed at her angrily, leaning closer to stand face to face with the mortified asari. "You don't like me, I get it, feel free to hate me, not like I care what you think of me. But you bring my child into it... do it again, and it'll be the last mistake that you make," she warned, bringing up her hands and placing them around Cyntria's throat, firmly, but not enough to cause real pain. "And to use your own child just to get back at me... that's just sick, twisted... I don't have the words to describe how wrong and reprehensible that was!"

"I... I don't know what... came over me..." Cyntria managed weakly, almost paralyzed with fear, Shepard's hands still wrapped around her throat. "I... wasn't thinking... something inside me just snapped... I... I can't believe I did that... please, just... just don't kill me... Qara needs me... I'm the only thing she has left..."

Cyntria's words made Morgan hesitate a little. Obviously, she hadn't intended to kill the asari, and leave a child without her mother, but Cyntria had done something horrible and Shepard fully intended to teach her a lesson to make sure that her daughter would not be threatened this way again. "I hadn't planned to kill you, Kavani," she said, relaxing her grip on the asari's throat, then unexpectedly tightening it again, Cyntria letting out a squeak, frightened to the point of passing out from fear. "But I'm sure you know that as a Spectre, being outside the law, I could just snap your neck and walk away without any consequences..."

The only reply from Cyntria was a desperate, incoherent wail, the asari reduced to a gibbering, tearful wreck. "Qara... baby... I'm so sorry... I let you down... please forgive me..." she begged, shaking like a leaf on the wind.

"Relax," Morgan said, still sternly but with less anger, loosening her grip on Cyntria's throat. "I said I'm not going to kill you. I don't plan to rob a child of her mother."

"Qara... is not my child. She's my niece..." Cyntria explained in a weak voice. "I'm too young to have children of my own. Just like Liara was-"

"Are you sure you want to go there, Kavani? Or do you really have a death wish?" Morgan hissed. "No doubt you believe that the evil human forced the poor, innocent asari into premature pregnancy, right? Gods, if you only knew the truth..."

"You will... say anything, Shepard..." Cyntria managed, then due to health reasons deciding not to elaborate. "Qara's mother... my sister... got lost on a scientific mission in the Traverse, months before the Reaper War. She was... officially declared dead eight years ago. I have been raising Qara alone for fifteen years now... please, believe me when I say that this was the first and the only time when I... betray her trust as horribly as I did today..."

"I don't care about your promises, Kavani," Shepard shrugged. "But for Qara's sake, I hope that it wasn't just an empty declaration. All I wanted was to drive home the message that if you ever threaten my daughter again, I'm going to kill you. In fact, I don't want to see your face anywhere near Lita. Are we clear on this?"

"I... y-yes," Cyntria gasped, Morgan stepping away from her and opening the doors again, Shiala grabbing their prey and pushing her out of the corridor and back onto the parking lot stairs.

"Now, get the fuck out of here," Shepard said, giving Dr. Kavani a light push, noticing that there was now an ugly and large stain at the front of her tricolored Serrice robes, the asari having been so frightened for her life that she had managed to soil herself. "And remember that you have a lot of making up to do to Qara."

Cyntria just stood there, as if frozen, starting to shake with incoherent sobs until the legs gave out under her and she sagged against the wall, sliding down to collapse into a sad, pitiful heap. _Geez... she looks exactly like in that vid Liara and I watched, after Liara rejected her invitation to the Expel 10 concert,_ Morgan suddenly realized, despite herself suddenly feeling overcome with sympathy and regret. "Ah... shit," she sighed, looking at Shiala. "Did I take it too far? Damn it... or am I just being too forgiving again... shit, I can't make up my mind."

"Shepard, if she had pulled a stunt like that to my child, she'd be lying in a pool of her own blood by now," Shiala shrugged, looking unapologetic. "I think you're too forgiving."

"Well... I guess that's the kind of idiot I am, then," Morgan chuckled bitterly, bending down next to the still quietly shaking and sobbing Cyntria, speaking to her in a softer tone. "Come on, pull yourself together, Kavani. Qara needs you. She's waiting on you back in the skycar. Breathe easy, calm down and then you can take her back to Serrice. Take her out someplace nice, it'll be a nice start in making up to her, yes? Come on... enough tears already, Kavani."

The sobbing seemed to become less frantic, but didn't stop completely at once. Morgan searched around for a handkerchief and pressed it into Cyntria's limp hand, urging her to clean herself up a bit. "There we go, that's much better," she said, watching the asari starting to wipe her cheeks clean with trembling hands. "You're going to be alright, now? Say that you'll be alright… for Qara."

"I... I'll be alright..." Cyntria muttered weakly, still refusing to rise as she continued to wipe her face.

"C'mon, Shepard," Shiala urged. "She'll be fine, she just needs some time to recover. Let's get out of here before anyone notices us and begins to ask tiresome questions."

"Right you are, Shiala," Morgan nodded, rising from the ground and together with the House T'Soni commando leader running back up the stairs towards their own skycar. "Geez, that could have gone better," she added, throwing one more look back at the devastated asari behind them, before cutting the corner.

"You did what had to be done, Shepard," Shiala said confidently. "If Dr. Kavani has a sliver of common sense, she'll stay away from Lita or anyone of the family."

"Let's hope so," Morgan nodded as they came up on their skycar. "My actions have an unpleasant tendency to catch up with me later in ways I could not have predicted..."


	34. The Councilor's Last Flight

**Chapter 34 – The Councilor's Last Flight**

_Year 2200 CE  
Joughin, Capital of Benning _

The few evenings that Miranda Lawson got to spend in her apartment on Benning had resulted in her developing something almost akin to a ritual. She opened the windows of her penthouse apartment, settling in comfortably on the wide windowsill with a bottle of wine and a glass in her hand, taking slow sips as she listened to the bustling sounds of night life of the increasingly busy Joughin, some hundred yards below where she sat. Benning and its capital had seen a steady reversal of its fortunes following the devastating Reaper War, especially during the years of construction of the New Arc, thousands and thousands of workers coming in from Earth, more often than not deciding to stick around after the completion of the work, bringing their families over from Earth as well.

As a result, Benning's population had swelled to twelve millions, around one fifth of them living in the always expanding Joughin, making it one of the largest and vibrant human colony cities. Miranda watched the growing fortunes of the colonies in contrast with the depressing economic decline of Earth with approval, by now firmly believing that the path of humanity lay in closer cooperation with the other races, and in leaving behind the ancestral home of humankind with its dubious and often painful and embarrassing past mistakes.

More often than not Miranda decided to switch on the massive vid screens on the wall opposite to the window, watching the various news channels, while she settled in comfortably in her comfy spot on the windowsill like a lazy, but still somehow dangerous large black cat. Tonight, every news channel was understandably abuzz regarding the arrival of Councilor Steven Hackett, the SSV Gallipoli carrying the representative of humanity now less than an hour away from a relay jump to the Euler System.

Miranda had not been best pleased about the whole idea of this tour of Hackett's, simply due to the growing security concerns, but the Councilor had been irritatingly dismissive of some of her warnings, implementing only a few additional security measures. But with the tour proceeding without any interruptions, Hackett already having spent several months visiting nearly all the Traverse colonies, Miranda had allowed herself to relax slightly, starting to believe that perhaps she had been too paranoid. Not to mention that her greatest fear for Hackett's safety was his appearance in the Sol System, where the troubles were originating from, but by then she would already be on the SSV Gallipoli herself, making sure that the Councilor did not fall prey to some sinister plots.

The whole situation reminded her of the events in the aftermath of the Reaper War, having to remove certain troublesome Alliance admirals to help humanity steady the wayward ship of command and give the reign of power into the hands of those who would ensure peace and growth, rather than discord and conflict. But she also knew that the current Alliance leadership was up to no good, arming themselves to the teeth, building new dreadnaughts and other ships for reasons that were not immediately obvious. More troubling was the fact that the cabinet of the Alliance government, lead by Prime Minster Katherine Hock, appeared to be aware of what was happening, lending their approval to whatever it was that the Alliance plotted towards. And with information so scarce to come by, Miranda could not explain just what it was that made her so very uncomfortable about the current situation, but she suddenly found a lot of doors being shut right into her face, and even her own agents placed in strategic locations on Earth, Mars and other locations within Sol were reporting mostly useless nonsense, cryptic warnings and random gibberish.

And there was one potential development that Miranda was greatly afraid of. During Hackett's tour, many representatives of the colony worlds spoke of forming a unified front against the oppressive and unreasonable demands coming from the Alliance Command, some going even as far as to suggest forming a confederation and standing up to the Alliance, an idea that had put Hackett in a precarious position, formally having to appear supportive of the Alliance, even if privately he might have sympathized with the plight of the colonies. The hostility from some of the colony representatives had made Hackett's tour of celebrating 15 years since the defeat of the Reapers somewhat more strained than he had envisioned it, and the SSV Gallipoli hadn't even yet visited the worlds that caused the Councilor the most concern.

The news reporter on the vid screen was currently busy describing the events of the tour up to now, showing a route with all the colony worlds visited and reflecting on the reception that the councilor and his delegation had received at each stop. Miranda reached out and poured herself another glass of wine, having gone through two glasses already. She leaned back against the windowsill, taking another sip, her attention for a moment drifting away from the news and back to the sounds of the busy nightlife below her. Now and then, she still experienced certain urges to just... dress up prettily and go out and try to have some fun. _Perhaps even meet someone,_ she thought to herself, a little somberly. She still was not certain whether she was interested in a relationship, deep down she almost feared being involved with someone as closely and intimately as, for example, Shepard and T'Soni. To open herself to someone who could read the depths of her mind, as easily as that... it simply frightened her.

_And I just don't have the time for that kind of involvement, _she began citing her own age-old excuses that she didn't really believe in herself. _Nah, that's a crap argument, really. I'm just afraid to take any chances. Maybe I could go for a few one-night stands, at least, just to feel a bit more... alive. But... no, I'm not sure that's me anymore. I'm not some kind of young, eager tramp. Perhaps it's just because I have spent so much time cut off from Oriana and my friends, and it is making me feel... lonely. After this mission I will have to request some other assignment, or just take a vacation, I must have at least a couple of years of unused leave by now. I could visit Kasumi. Stay with her for a while. After Bau, she doesn't really have anyone else, just like me. Maybe that's all I need... a friend like her. _

_'We now return live to our camera crew standing by the mass relay of Arcturus Stream, with the SSV Gallipoli about to make a relay jump traveling from Yandoa,' _the reporter chirped, turning Miranda's attention back to the screen. _'This marks the first time since the opening ceremony of New Arcturus Station that Councilor Hackett pays visit to the Euler System, and his arrival is no doubt awaited with anticipation by the Alliance Parliament, and the cabinet under Prime Minister Hock. Several important diplomatic and economical treaties that have been drafted by the cabinet as of late will no doubt become an object of debate during the councilor's visit... but for now, it seems that... yes, they are arriving, let us all turn our attention to the mass relay...' _

Miranda raised her glass of wine, saluting the arrival of the SSV Gallipoli, as the sleek frigate appeared through the relay. For a moment, Spectre Lawson allowed herself to relax, letting out a breath that she wasn't aware of having been holding. _I'm not sure why I worried so much. It's not like they would have thought to try something like- _

_'We are... receiving reports of... unusual energy spikes from the mass effect drive of the SSV Gallipoli,' _the next words of the reporter, however, literally jolted Miranda, the raven-haired woman immediately turning her attention to the news feed... and realizing instantly that this was not just some small malfunction. The entire frigate was enveloped in a bright blue light, pulsing at steadily decreasing intervals. Miranda thought that she could see a lifepod or two detaching from the frigate, but it was already too late, the intervals between the energy pulses reached zero and suddenly the entire screen grew bright, so bright that it blinded her and everyone watching the spectacular explosion, destroying the ship and humanity's best hope for peace aboard the frigate.

_'"Cut the feeds! Cut the feeds, damn it! Deploy all hospital ships, immediately!"' _Miranda could hear the frantic shouting on the channels, even as she knew that all rescue efforts would be in vain. The near empty wine glass fell from her hands and rolled towards the edge of the windowsill, balanced precariously on the edge... and then fell down, into the dark of the night.

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

"I'm guessing that this is not good," Aria remarked, watching the news vid, reporting the shocking developments of Councilor Hackett's death. "Does Shepard know already?"

"I don't know, but I asked her to come over as soon as I learned of it," Tevos replied. She was sitting down on the sofa, nervously wringing her hands. "And you are correct, this is most definitely not good."

"I was just told, yeah," Shepard said, entering one of the many living rooms in Aria's Armali estate, Liara following directly behind. "What the hell happened? Hackett... damn it, I don't think this is going to sink in quickly..." she said, letting out a deep sigh as she shook her head.

"Here, take this," Aria came over and pressed something in Morgan's hand. Shepard looked down to see that it was a glass of brandy, nodding gratefully to the Pirate Queen before taking a generous gulp.

"We do not know much at the moment, I'm afraid, Morgan," Tevos explained softly, also looking distressed, half-empty glass of elassa in her hand. "The initial reports suggest a malfunction of the ship's mass effect drive during a relay jump. Such accidents are... known to happen in the past."

"First time I've heard of one," Morgan shook her head, looking over at Liara. "Babe, you're good with remembering the odd facts here and there, when's the last time something like this has happened?"

"Umm... let me see..." Liara tapped an elegant finger against her chin, deep in thought. "Not for the last eight years, I don't think..."

"And then it suddenly happens to the ship carrying the human councilor," Morgan shook her head again. "A man who was heading over to investigate certain dubious actions taken by the Systems Alliance leadership."

"I take it that you expect foul play, Shepard," Tevos remarked.

"Damn right I do," Shepard said impatiently. "I sincerely doubt that it will be possible to prove, though."

"It is still worth trying, perhaps something can be gathered from the debris... not that there's a lot left..." Liara remarked sullenly. Having had dealings with Hackett in the past, she was understandably upset as well, though not nearly to the level of what Shepard was feeling.

"I find this very alarming," Tevos sighed. "Shepard, do you have any idea what we can expect now?"

"I would suggest trying to get a hold of Miranda... uh, Spectre Lawson," Morgan replied thoughtfully. "Last I heard from her she was on Benning. She would have the best understanding into the Alliance internal politics, and valuable insights to share with us... and the Council, I'm sure."

"I know you have been talking with Spectre Lawson, Morgan... any thoughts you can share with us, my friend... they would be greatly appreciated," Tevos urged.

"She had some concerns about the Alliance Command and the Prime Minister... possibly involved in some kind of... conspiracy, though she did not seem to know what exactly they might have been planning. I gather that Hackett would have very much disapproved of their actions if he had ever found out just exactly what they were doing."

"Well, there's your motive," Aria shrugged. "I just bet that the new candidate for councilor's post will be either this Prime Minister of yours, or one of the Alliance admirals. And I bet they'll be a lot less pleasant to deal with than this Hackett."

"That seems plausible," Tevos nodded, appearing thoughtful. "If this candidate enjoys the backing of both political and military wings of the Systems Alliance, it would be difficult for the Council to reject them. It could considerably worsen our relationship with Earth, and potentially lead us all down a darker road towards an outcome that I do not wish to even consider..."

"Why would you want to reject this candidate?" Shepard asked. "I would actually advise to accept them and do so without any delays. Our people have a saying... 'keep your friends close, and enemies closer'. Having either Hock or one of the admirals on the Council would give us better opportunities to watch them closely. Right now, when they are plotting in secret away on New Arc or Sol, we can't learn much, even Miranda gets stonewalled all the time, and this sort of trade is her bread and butter."

"An interesting proposition, yes," Tevos slowly nodded, gears already grinding in her head. "What you say makes a lot of sense. This could be a way to drag whatever plans the Alliance might be hatching into the light. And perhaps even expose their involvement into the death of Councilor Hackett."

"Why do you even care so much, you're still exiled from the political circles," Aria smirked at her bondmate.

"Not for much longer, Aria, my dear, and you are going to help me with that," Tevos grinned, looking back at the scowling Aria. "I can sense that dark tidings approaching the galaxy once again... Irissa has done a fine job in my stead, but I cannot allow her to deal with what is coming, it will be my responsibility to bear, I won't trust anyone else with it. Aria, I want you to… persuade Irissa to come here at the first opportunity, and then I will want you to be present when she arrives. She respects and fears you greatly. If she had any delusions about not returning the office back to me, your presence will ensure her... cooperation."

"You are returning to work... Councilor Tevos?" Liara asked, hopeful smile on her lips.

"Yes, I can stand aside no more," Tevos nodded with determination, ignoring the almost petulant, annoyed expression on Aria's face. "I know you like having me around the estate all the time, love... but we agreed that eventually I would go back to my job, didn't we? We will see each other, less, but... the time apart will make our reunions all the more... exciting..."

"Hmm, yes... you might be right about that," Aria eventually allowed herself to be convinced. "I foresee plenty of Citadel visits in my future. Those are really going to bring back some... special memories. Like that first time when I had you bent over the sofa in your office and-"

"Please, Aria!" Tevos exclaimed, blushing furiously. "We are... all very special friends here, but still... perhaps a modicum of tact could still be displayed?"

"I have grown so used to always having you here as of late," Liara confessed, giving Tevos a look full of regret. "It will feel... different, not having you both around on daily basis."

"We will be visiting very often, I'm sure," Tevos smiled. "We are both going to miss you greatly."

"Not to mention that amazing T'Soni Estate sauna," Aria added with a chuckle.

"What about the girls, will you be taking them with you?" Morgan asked. "Lita is going to take that very hard, she's very attached to them both."

"Hmm, I had not thought about that yet," Tevos said, having pondered upon the issue for a moment. "I no longer believe that they require constant supervision by Aria or myself. Especially with you as neighbors, I would not feel nervous about leaving them here in Armali."

"Yeah, I'll just leave a small commando squad for their personal protection and as the estate guards," Aria nodded. "Both Rila and Falere have done more than enough to prove that they are not a danger to the society... not that I would care about the society, but they are also not dangers to themselves. I'm fine with letting them stay at the estate."

"That's wonderful, Lita will be overjoyed and relieved that you are not taking her two best friends away," Liara smiled.

"But let us not get ahead of ourselves, there are still preparations to make," Tevos warned. "Until we have spoken with Irissa and ironed out all the little technicalities that need addressing before I can retake the office, there is little point in planning anything else. But Shepard, it would be good if you could learn more from Spectre Lawson. It would be advantageous to be as prepared as I possibly can be, if I am to represent our interests in the Council Chambers."

"Yeah, I'll write my reply to Miranda shortly, see if she can tell me more. I imagine that everyone on Benning and New Arc are still in a state of shock, though," Morgan nodded.

"And I will speak with Irissa to extend an invitation to visit Thessia," Aria said simply. "It will be an invitation she won't be able to refuse..."

After Aria had spoken those words, everyone sat silent for a prolonged period of time, all as one understanding that what had happened was important enough to send the galaxy towards another major upheaval, death of a councilor in mysterious and unclear circumstances was bound to bring another period of uncertainty, and for the time being, none of them knew what to expect in the coming days, months and years. All they knew was that another problem had arisen, and that they would have to deal with it, working on the issue together so that the galaxy would continue to know peace.

"Kind of reminds me of the time when we were all stuck in the Sol System after the Reaper War," Aria remarked a while later. "Once again, having to deal with the ambitions of some moronic Alliance admirals. Maybe we should have just blown Earth up so that your people would scratch their plans for that dumpster of a planet and start over somewhere else?"

"Well, our colonies in the Traverse are thriving now that the batarian pirates are out of the picture," Morgan said thoughtfully. "Or well, they would be thriving if the Alliance didn't pressure them so much. So, clearly, there are a lot of humans out there doing good work."

"And we have had plenty of problems caused by other species as well since the Reaper War," Tevos said. "The krogan have been the most problematic by far. The turians have their own internal issues with the split over Digeris, the pecking order on Sur'Kesh changes so quickly that we struggle to comprehend which dalatrass is currently in charge, and our own people have fallen from grace after the Shadow Broker smear campaign against the asari. So you're being just a little unfair when singling out the humans, Aria."

"Yes, yes, I wasn't entirely serious, you should have realized that," Aria sighed. "Got plenty of humans doing good job by filling my coffers on Omega. Can't trust them, third most corruptible species after the salarians and the asari, but they work hard, almost as hard as the turians."

"I'm guessing that most humans in the upper management of your business ventures don't last very long, Aria?" Liara asked, receiving a nod from the Pirate Queen, both of them watching Shepard as she rose from her seat and walked over to where Liara stood by the window, looking outside at the beautiful garden glowing softly in the darkness of a Thessian evening.

"I... think it's starting to sink in now," Morgan spoke up quietly, only meaning for Liara to hear, but Aria and Tevos had abandoned their idle conversation as well, able to overhear and respectfully allowing Shepard to continue. "It just... sucks. He was my mentor from the very early days in the Alliance. More so than my mother... she always tried to keep herself distant and professional, because she thought that if she made herself more involved, the rumors that she might be helping to advance my career would do me more harm than good."

"An understandable concern, Morgan," Liara said softly. "While it must not have been easy to have your mother keeping you at a distance, she did act only in your best interests."

"Yeah, I understood and accepted that," Morgan nodded. "That's why... Hackett always had such an influence on me, even if we disagreed on some things later on. I remember him from even before the Skyllian Blitz, though I think that's probably where he first heard about me. Ever since then, I knew he was following my career with keen interest, keeping track of my assignments... hell, he probably had a hand in my N-school designation as well. I owed him a great deal."

"He was always very reasonable in all my dealings with him, a wonderful colleague through and through," Tevos remarked. "I have lost one of my most dependable allies and simply a good man on the Council, for which I am deeply saddened."

Liara nodded to that. "Yes, he was very helpful and accommodating during my stay on Mars. We spoke frequently and he constantly supplied me with information about what Morgan was doing during her... detainment by the Alliance. I was very thankful to him for everything he did for me."

"Yeah, he was just a great guy, always looking out for those he cared about," Shepard agreed. "I'm not going to rest until those responsible for his death are brought to justice. Or well, just shot dead or blown up, that might be even better. No need to waste time or credits of fancy trials."

"Oh, Morgan, do you remember those days when we were chasing down Saren, and how Admiral Hackett always made sure that we had something to do even when the trail for Saren had gone cold for the moment?" Liara asked excitedly, basking in the fond memories. "I always thought it was so very considerate of him!"

"Yeah..." Morgan muttered, wincing a little. "Just as I was about to pull the Normandy in the Citadel docks for a bit of a shore leave, he would immediately be on the comms, dropping an urgent matter into our laps... if it wasn't for Saren or the geth, then Cerberus were up to no good..."

"Or the rachni..." Liara added.

"Or some irritating pirates out in the Traverse..." Morgan continued.

"Or rogue VI's breaking loose..."

"Or Thorian slaves..."

"Or husks..."

"To be honest," Aria suddenly interrupted Liara and Morgan's reminiscing. "You're actually now making him come off as a real asshole."

"Oh, shush Aria, you have no idea what you're talking about," Morgan gave the asari a harsh glare. "Hackett was an awesome superior officer!"

Aria sighed and took a huge swig of the Noverian brandy. "You're all insane," she muttered, rolling her eyes exasperatedly.

* * *

_New Arc, Arcturus Stream _

"A true tragedy for all humankind, indeed," Rear Admiral Trevor McIllis said, watching the latest news feeds in the office of the Prime Minister, together with Katherine Hock. "We are diminished on the whole with this terrible loss."

"Yes, yes, quite," Katherine said, a little impatiently. Between just the two of them in the room, she wasn't quite certain why the admiral was keeping up the same appearances that he wore in front of the damned reporters, offering platitudes with his carefully studied lines. She couldn't help but to be a little worried that the Alliance military would now try to wash their hands of the entire incident, perhaps with the intent to make her the scapegoat. And if she was perfectly honest, she had nothing with which to implicate the Alliance Command of their involvement. "Hopefully this investigation that the Council insists upon will turn up nothing. We certainly do not need any rumors to fly around and overshadow this sad occasion even more..."

"Very true, miss Hock. Very true," McIllis nodded in that confident tone of his that always made Katherine even more nervous. "In your place, I would not worry. I am sure that everything will calm down in due time."

"Every setback is also an opportunity, isn't it?" she asked, unable to quite keep the nervousness out of her voice.

"Quite." The admiral rose, walking up to one of the shelves storing various gifts she had received during her term at the office as well as her diploma of the University of Lenos from her time spent on Irune and a small holo picture of Katherine together with her father and brother. "But such an opportunity is very rare and must not be wasted. We must be exceedingly careful when taking the next step forward."

_Has he reconsidered and now wants to take the councilor's posting for himself? _Katherine thought worriedly. "Admiral McIllis, I can assure you that I remain fully committed to the cause of humanity and the Systems Alliance," she said in a steady voice. "My loyalty and dedication have never wavered and I am well prepared to take this next step, under your considerate advice and guidance."

"Well said, miss Hock," the admiral nodded at her. "Exactly the kind of answer I was hoping to hear. Not that any of us in the Alliance Command would harbor any doubts about your suitability for the role."

"I have done everything as you asked-"

"And that is why, in due time, I will be addressing you as Councilor Hock, yes," McIllis gave her a smile, which to Katherine felt very fake and forced, the man to her appearing completely devoid of any emotions, especially as of late. _Maybe it's the result of carrying out this hit on an old friend... couldn't have been easy for them to take out Hackett and several hundred good men of the Alliance... I don't care about them, but as a soldier, McIllis probably does. _"But we must remain calm and respectful, especially in the face of this Council inquiry. We must not push our case, for it would undoubtedly attract only more attention to ourselves."

"You want us to wait?" Katherine asked, trying to quench her impatience. So close to the ultimate goal, it was hard to keep her emotions in check. "How long?"

"We will wait two months before putting forth our candidate for the Council's approval," McIllis said. "Of course, the Council might actually ask us to suggest someone before that time. I would much prefer such a scenario. But in two months, it will not appear... disrespectful for us to come forth with our own initiative."

"Two months," Katherine repeated quietly. _In two months, I could be the humanity's councilor. Finally... finally, everything is about to come together, just as I had imagined it. Two months... yes, I suppose I can wait that long._


	35. The Council Vote

_A/N: Aria and Tevos have been clamoring for a little... scene at the councilor's office, so the last part of the chapter is probably NSFW. ;) _

**Chapter 35 – The Council Vote**

_Year 2201 CE  
Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

"Hey, Shep," Kasumi greeted her jovially, together with Miranda standing outside the Council Chambers and watching Morgan approaching them in a sprightly step. "Was wondering if you're ever going to show up!"

"Hey Kasumi," Morgan smiled, finding herself being hugged by the other woman. "And Miranda, great to see you, too. I'm not late, am I?" she asked, checking her chrono for good measure.

"Not at all, Shepard," Miranda replied, tiny smile at the corner of her lips. "Kasumi is simply impossibly impatient."

"Hey, am not!" Kasumi protested, albeit half-heartedly. "Anyway, we've been wondering why the Council wants to see us all three at once. It's probably to do something with the new human councilor, what do you think?"

"Shepard doesn't have to make guesses with the asari councilor being her neighbor on Thessia, I bet she already knows everything," Miranda smirked. "And it can only be about the new human councilor, yes."

"You're both correct," Shepard simply nodded. "The Council have been trying to gather as much intel as possible on Katherine Hock, ever since the Alliance Command proposed her as their candidate. They just want to make sure of having covered all the angles before voting on her." They all fell silent for a moment while waiting to be summoned before the Council. "Mind you... it's going to be... a bit weird to work for this Katherine Hock, if they approve of her. You know, considering our past with her father..." Morgan remarked after a while.

"Yeah, I've been a bit... worried about that," Kasumi added uneasily. "Especially if she knows who was behind the attack on Bekenstein. But I can't imagine she would know that... else it could get real awkward very quickly..."

"I'm more concerned about the plots she has been involved in more recently," Miranda shook her head. "But I suppose that-"

"With poorly disguised indifference, the Council will see you now," suddenly the Council's elcor announcer interrupted Miranda. "Walk this way," the elcor added, clearly lacking any enthusiasm about his highly important duties, leading the three human Spectres into the Council Chambers, the large room that they all had visited many times before.

Inside the chambers, the councilors already awaited them, sitting in a semi-circle in the greatly expanded hall to accommodate the three new species on the Council. Three seats stood empty in front of the councilors, an invitation for the Spectres to take their place and face the questions of their superiors. "Bit like taking the stand at court," Kasumi whispered to Morgan, making Shepard chuckle, earning herself an odd stare from some of the councilors.

It was a little odd to face the familiar cast without Hackett being there, Morgan's heart still clenching a little with hurt every time she remembered her old friend and superior. But at least all the others were still there, including her old nemesis Sparatus, looking only slightly less irritated than his usual posture, some of the harshness gone from his glare. _I need to ask Karin whether he and Chloe are still together, I haven't really checked in on some of my more remote friends as of late, _Morgan made a small resolution.

Tevos and Shala'Raan as always appeared welcoming and supportive as the trio took their places, Shepard in the middle, Kasumi and Miranda to her sides. The new salarian councilor, Oluara, looked to be in a very bad mood, but it had nothing to do with the three Spectres. The krogan councilor, Urdnot Ngagong, had fallen asleep in his seat, spread out on the table and leaning over on the salarian's side, drooling on her datapads, appearing content with simply snoring through this meeting. Lastly, Legion was also present, greeting Morgan and her friends with a bow of his gently glowing flashlight head to indicate being pleased to see them.

"Thank you for coming, Spectres," Tevos opened the small meeting, not mincing any words. She had settled back into her post naturally and effortlessly, and somehow nobody had raised a single question about this change, leaving it as an internal matter of the Asari Republics. Tevos had been especially pleased that Irissa had decided to be very supportive and at least outwardly appeared only happy to welcome Tevos back to her post. It seemed that Irissa had wisely decided that trying to oppose Tevos, and by extension also Aria, would be most foolish and that it would be more to her benefit to remain on the same team with the two influential asari, agreeing to continue her work within the diplomatic structure of the asari offices on the Citadel. Irissa was such an important asset that Tevos was not willing to let her talents be wasted on mundane bureaucratic tasks, and considering her experience working as the asari ambassador on Palaven, Irissa had been immediately deployed to Digeris to help Primarch Victus settle the differences between the new base of government and their detractors back on Palaven.

"Our time is very precious, so I will do my best not to waste it," Tevos continued after a small pause. "We have summoned you here to listen to your input regarding the proposed candidate for the role of humanity's councilor, Prime Minister Katherine Hock. The Council has already evaluated all available intel on this candidate, as well as interviewed several dozen individuals and assembled a particular profile of this candidate. However, the Council feels that it is necessary to also gather whatever insights we can from the most prominent human Spectres before putting the candidate before a Council vote."

"Spectre Shepard, have you had any personal dealings with Katherine Hock?" Sparatus took over, opening the questioning.

"I have not," Morgan shrugged.

"Nor have I," Kasumi echoed.

"Remind me again why we invited them?" Sparatus groused, glaring at Tevos.

"We invited them because they have had previous dealings with one Donovan Hock," Tevos reminded him. "Please, Spectre Shepard, elaborate on this encounter."

"Umm... it was, let's see... sixteen years ago?" Shepard said, thoughtfully rubbing her forehead. "Just prior to taking Normandy through the Omega-4 relay to beat up the Collectors. Taking out Donovan Hock was... well, you could say that it was a down-payment for enlisting Kasumi's services against the Collectors."

"Hock had arranged the murder of my... partner, and had stolen something of... incredible importance to me," Kasumi said gravely. "I knew that involving Shepard in my mission would undoubtedly lead to violence on impressive scale, but I had no other options, I needed to recover the item he had stolen. Besides, I'm sure you have a file on Donovan Hock. You know perfectly well who he was."

"Reputation well known to the Council," Oluara, the salarian councilor, spoke in her high-pitched voice. "Wealthy businessman, criminal ties. His death contributed to galactic security. No moral scruples. Primary concern, Council Spectres possibly compromised."

"Shepard, Kasumi, do you believe that Katherine Hock knows of your involvement in her father's death?" Shala'Raan asked softly, looking only peripherally interested in the discussion.

"I do not believe so, ma'am," Kasumi replied politely. Morgan wasn't completely certain whether Kasumi truly believed that or not, but they had already agreed previously that the best way of action would be for the Council to invite Katherine Hock to join them, so that they could watch her more closely. As a result, Kasumi obviously did not want to make the Council feel that they would have to deny Hock just to keep their Spectres from being compromised.

"Shepard, agree with this assessment?" Oluara asked quickly.

"I do," Morgan nodded. "If she had known about it, I'm sure that she would have used her contacts and resources to try something already, but she has not targeted me in any way. That makes me believe that she doesn't know we were involved."

"Very well," Tevos said, looking satisfied as she turned her eyes to Miranda. "Spectre Lawson, you have spent considerable time deployed to observe humanity's internal affairs in the Sol System and New Arcturus Station. No doubt, you have many insights in the personality of Katherine Hock."

"I'm sure that by this point you have read all the reports that I have ever submitted to Councilor Hackett," Miranda replied, a little bit of edge in her voice.

"Yes, and they were full with inconclusive suppositions about dark plots and conspiracy theories involving this Katherine Hock and the Alliance Command," Sparatus stated. "Hardly the credentials befitting someone eager to take place on the Council!"

"Also notice lack of hard evidence," Oluara opined. "Suspect reports incomplete. Sensitive information exchanged privately, yes?"

Not a muscle moved on Miranda's face, even as the salarian easily and irritatingly made her logical extrapolation. "Yes, there... were concerns of the Systems Alliance being... involved in something that the Galactic Council would not approve of. And that Prime Minister Hock was aware of it and was willing to cover for the Alliance Command."

"These are damning accusations," Shala'Raan shook her head. "Can you elaborate on what exactly the Systems Alliance were contemplating to do?"

"Considering the amount of supplies the Alliance is trying to bleed from the colony worlds, I can only surmise that they are trying to develop a new type of weapons system," Miranda shrugged. "However, I do not have any evidence."

"Earth covered in Reaper remains," Oluara mused thoughtfully. "New weapon based on Reaper technology? Possibilities alarming."

"If this Hock is involved with this kind of conspiracy, then she is not the kind of person we want on this Council!" Sparatus exclaimed, slamming his fist against the surface of the desk and thus waking up Councilor Ngagong, the krogan letting out a huge yawn and almost swallowing some of Oluara's datapads when he closed his mouth again.

"Oh, don't tell me we're still arguing about this crap," the krogan rumbled loudly, giving Sparatus an angry glare for waking him up.

"Councilor Ngagong, so good of you to rejoin us," Tevos said with a chuckle, shaking her head at the krogan. "Do you have any valuable input you would like to share with us?"

"Ugh, I don't care who you accept, I can't tell one human apart from another even when I'm not completely smashed from too much ryncol," he growled, earning a laugh from Morgan and her Spectre friends. "Oh, good to see you, Shepard," Ngagong finally noticed her presence. "Now, there's the only human I can tell apart from all the others. And do you know why? Because she's the damned Hero of the Krogan! Yeah!"

"Uh... thank you for your input, Councilor Ngagong," Shala'Raan quickly said, trying to keep the discussion on track. "Following these concerns about the candidate, I would like to ask all three Spectres to make their recommendation, before we proceed on with our vote. Do you believe that we should invite Katherine Hock on the Council, Spectre Lawson?"

"I believe you should do so, councilors," Miranda replied confidently. "Right now, you don't have satisfactory arguments to reject her in a way that would not be perceived as a great insult to the Systems Alliance. This could very well lead to... well, I do not want to continue this train of thought."

"A very compelling argument. Thank you, Spectre Lawson," Tevos nodded. "I suppose we could always stall for time, until we manage to dig up something, but the point is well made. Spectre Goto?"

"To quote Sun-Tzu, a famous human general and military strategist, 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'," Kasumi smiled. "It's hard to get any dirt on miss Hock while she and her friends are secluded on the New Arc. Drag her into the light, here on the Citadel, and if she is involved in shady dealings, sooner or later we'll manage to expose her."

"A valid strategy," Oluara nodded. "Human home system insular, well protected. Moles are notoriously difficult to place. Suggestion worthwhile to consider."

"Spectre Shepard?" Tevos turned to Morgan, speaking softly.

"I believe that my two colleagues have already brought up some good points," Morgan said with certainty. "I can only add my voice to their opinions. Bring Hock here and if she's rotten, then we'll expose her soon enough. I sincerely believe that this is a better way to handle the issue than denying her and then... maybe then we won't have to get involved in a military conflict with the Alliance..."

"A sobering prospect, indeed," Tevos remarked gravelly. "Very well, on behalf of the Council, I thank you all for attending this meeting and sharing your insights. You may be excused from further proceedings, as the Council will now spend time for our final deliberations before putting the matter before a vote."

"What? There will be... more talking?" Morgan could hear Ngagong speaking up, as the three of them got up to leave, the krogan giving a sad roar of desperation that made her chuckle. "Wrex, you complete bastard... couldn't you have shot me, instead?"

* * *

"Shepard! Shepard, wait up, damn it!" a very familiar voice rang out somewhere close by as Morgan, together with Kasumi and Miranda, lazily made their way towards the slow-ass elevators leading down to the base of the Citadel Tower.

"Is that Aria T'Loak?" Kasumi asked, turning her head to look at the figure swiftly approaching them. "Aria T'Loak, in the Council Chambers on the Citadel? These really are crazy times, Shep."

"Well, she also is Shepard's neighbor on Thessia," Miranda remarked. "Also, sleeping with Councilor Tevos, if I'm correct... which might explain her presence here."

"Got it in one, though she's more than just a neighbor," Morgan grinned, stepping towards Aria, finding herself fiercely embraced and kissed on both cheeks before the Pirate Queen released her, smug grin on her lips, never missing an opportunity to shock the onlookers or send some kind of twisted rumor mill spinning. "Hey, Aria, I heard you were hanging out on the Citadel, but I didn't expect to bump into you here."

"I've been busy with some meetings of my own, terminating several disappointing contractors... I mean, contracts," Aria corrected, sporting a broad grin as she stared down Kasumi and Miranda, the other two Spectres looking caught a little unprepared for Aria's display. "Did you come alone, Liara's not with you?"

"Alone this time, we decided that we simply couldn't impose looking after the girls on Aethyta for too long, it would be unfair," Shepard explained. "But it also means that I'm not going to be stay here for long. I'm going back to Thessia tomorrow."

"Already?" Aria looked a little disappointed. "A shame, I thought we could do something together. Alas, I had already made certain... plans for tonight."

"Yeah, and I was thinking of going out with Miranda and Kasumi later on, I feel as if we have a lot to catch up with," Morgan said, smiling at her two still surprised fellow Spectres.

"Uh... I wasn't informed that we'd be going out, but sure, sounds fun," Kasumi was as always quick to agree. "Miri, you're in, right? Say that you'll join us!"

"Fine, fine, I'll never hear the end of it if I refuse, anyway," Miranda sighed despondently.

"Ah, looks like we're both sorted for the evening then, Shepard," Aria nodded. "A suggestion, if I may? Check out that Silver Coast Casino on the Silversun Strip. I had a good feeling about the place as soon as they brought me a bottle of Noverian brandy on the house. You won't regret spending time there."

"I bet I won't, but my credit chit just might," Morgan laughed, turning towards the two others. "What do you say, girls? Are you feeling... adventurous, tonight?"

"A casino... tempting, very tempting," Kasumi grinned. "I'm up for it!"

"Well, I suppose someone needs to be the common sense of the group and keep you two in check," Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Splendid! That's all sorted then," Morgan nodded with satisfaction, before turning to her imposing looking asari friend. "And how long are you going to stay on the Citadel, Aria?" she asked.

"Another week, at most. After that, I'll be back on Thessia. But well, don't let me detain you. I'll be off to kick back a little in Tevos' office and raid her drinks cabinet, until she is done with some kind of ridiculous vote," Aria sighed theatrically.

"Yes, it only concerns the new human councilor, obviously nothing important," Miranda added sarcastically.

"I'm glad you agree, sexy thing," Aria winked at Miranda, before turning Shepard around and giving her a light slap on the backside, as if imperiously dismissing her. "Run along now, and make sure that sauna is hot and ready to use for when I get back to Thessia!"

"Uh... Shepard?" Kasumi asked, sounding a little stunned as they resumed their walk back towards the elevator.

"Yes, Kasumi?" Morgan returned innocently.

"I want to know all about this weird relationship you've got going with none other than Aria T'Loak," Kasumi blurted out excitedly.

"I _could_ tell you all about it... unfortunately, then I would also have to silence you afterwards," Morgan grinned. "But maybe I can share a few things... on the condition that we do go out to that casino and you get me a little tipsy..."

"I think we can manage that, Shepard," Miranda nodded, thin smile on her lips.

"Yep!" Kasumi grinned. "Challenge accepted!"

* * *

Councilor Tevos returned to her office so late in the afternoon that it would have been more accurate to refer to the time as early evening. As the doors closed behind her, she allowed herself to slump backwards a little, leaning with her back against the doors, clutching the datapads against her chest, closing her eyes and breathing deeply to relax.

"Tough day at the office, hmm?" a familiar voice spoke up suddenly, completely startling the councilor and nearly making her jump. The lights were slowly dimming outside, and in the twilight of the office she hadn't spotted Aria, sitting imperiously at her desk, feet wearing the famous high-heeled leather boots propped up on the surface of the desk, the Pirate Queen leaning back in the chair and drinking something pilfered from her collection straight from the bottle.

"Goddess, Aria, must you sneak up on me like that?" Tevos tried to sound reproachful, but in all honesty she had to admit that the attempt was very weak, due to extreme exhaustion.

"Yes. It amuses me to see you startled," Aria chuckled as Tevos slowly approached, putting the datapads down on the corner of the desk where Aria's feet wouldn't accidentally knock them down on the floor. "And you did not answer my question."

"You don't really care to know all the boring details, Aria," Tevos managed to reply tiredly, leaning against the desk. "Let's just say that while Shepard and her fellow Spectres posed good arguments for inviting this Katherine Hock onto the Council, I still remain doubtful whether it is the correct decision. To use the honorable status of the councilor merely as means to expose someone possibly, likely corrupt... to risk giving this person so much power, it does not sit well with me."

"So you voted against her?" Aria asked.

"Yes, I did. I had to," Tevos shook her head. "Shepard would be disappointed in my actions if she knew. I think that during our interview, I gave her the impression that I would be supportive. But the vote still fell in Hock's favor, so I suppose it is irrelevant."

"I bet the turians were against it as well," the Pirate Queen tried to guess.

"Yes, Sparatus objected rather fiercely," Tevos nodded. "In the end, Oluara outsmarted us both in convincing Shala'Raan to vote for the inclusion of this human female. And Ngagong simply wanted to accept any candidate because he realized that if we turned her down, we would need to restart the entire selection process again, and for a krogan that is nothing short of torture."

"A krogan after my own heart," Aria laughed heartily.

"Why am I not surprised?" Tevos managed a smile, walking around the desk and nudging Aria lightly on her shoulder. "Love... I appreciate you being here after such a hard day, but I badly need to study through a few more reports before I can retire. I'll try not to take too long," she added apologetically, as Aria slipped out of the chair and allowed the councilor to resume her spot, Tevos activating the intercom and trying to reach one of her aides, but nobody answered her calls. "How odd... but now that I think of it, I did not see any of them still around when I came through the offices... where are they all?"

"Oh, you mean your staff?" Aria asked in an innocent voice, casually strolling up to the office doors and activating the electronic lock, turning back towards Tevos with a slightly predatory grin on her face. "I think you can stop trying to reach them. I gave them all an early evening and told them to hit the nightclubs and relax a little. They looked very keen on accepting my orders."

"You did... what?" Tevos gasped, giving Aria a wide-eyed stare. "Aria, this is not Omega, you can't just tell my employees to-"

"Bah, you work too hard," Aria interrupted her impatiently. "The hours here are worse than for my workers on Omega! How fucked up is that? Besides..." she said teasingly, circling around the desk, coming to stand behind the councilor's seat and placing her hands on Tevos' shoulders. "You have forgotten one thing that I will be forced to remind you. Nobody is allowed to wear you out but me, Tevos. Is that clear?"

"I..." Tevos had thought about protesting, but Aria's hands circling around her shoulders in a light and relaxing massage quickly made her reconsider. "Yes, Aria."

"No, I don't think that simple words will do, my pet," Aria purred, Tevos suddenly finding herself pulled up from her seat and then pushed forward, with a startled yelp collapsing bent over the desk. "Clearly, a practical reminder is required here."

"Aria, I really don't think-" Tevos tried to push up from the desk but found that Aria had already knocked the chair aside, standing close behind her, effectively pinning her against the desk and not allowing her to turn around.

"That's right, pet," Aria chuckled, easily pushing Tevos back down against the surface of the table. "You're not supposed to think. You're only expected to obey..." Even through the fabric of her robes, the touch of Aria's hands on her back felt divine, quickly enflaming her and forcing Tevos to abolish all thoughts about trying to break free, the councilor for the time being forgetting even her own exhaustion.

She could not help but to shudder powerfully as Aria undid the zipper at the back of her robe, gradually exposing her naked back to the cool, soothing air of her office, Aria opening the garment all the way down to her lower back, but not removing it entirely, letting it still hang from her shoulders even as she kept running her hands up and down along Tevos' spine, making the councilor squirm from pleasure and surrender tiny, soft moans of delight.

"Mmm... beautiful," Aria purred, discarding her leather jacket and bending down and over Tevos, beginning to trace kisses along the councilor's back, as always marveling at the soft, textured skin, delightful as ever to her touch. Her hands travelled upwards to teasingly slip the robe off from Tevos' shoulders, the garment falling on the desk under Tevos, leaving the councilor naked down to her waist. As Aria continued to shower her bondmate's back with kisses, her hands slipped down to Tevos' hips, ever so gently beginning to push the fabric of her robe over her hips.

"Oh, Aria... I love you..." Tevos gasped, squirming in delight as Aria's lips reached her neck, begging to suck on the tender, sensitive folds there, feeling the Pirate Queen's still clothed, powerful and sleek frame pressing tightly against her back.

"Don't even think of distracting me with such talk, pet," Aria growled, stopping her kisses for a moment and rewarding Tevos' impertinence with a harsh slap against the councilor's backside, making her gasp with surprise. Aria's hands then resumed their efforts to push the robe together with the councilor's undergarments over her hips, eventually succeeding in doing so, the robe pooling at Tevos' feet, the panties remaining half way down the councilor's thighs. Aria slipped her leg between Tevos' thighs, pushing them apart, forcing the councilor to spread her legs and Tevos responded obediently.

The councilor felt the weight of Aria's body suddenly lifting from her back, letting out a sigh of disappointment from losing the contact, but then, after a brief noise that sounded like shuffling a piece of cloth, Aria sank back down on Tevos, the councilor barely stopping herself from crying out in pleasure as she realized that Aria had removed her top, feeling the softness of Aria's skin tight against her back, feeling her bondmate's breasts and hardened nipples pressing against her. "Much better," Aria purred, having simply held Tevos for a while like that, before her hands began to explore the councilor's helplessly pinned down frame. Tevos drew a harsh breath as she felt Aria's hand slipping in between her spread legs, summoning all her willpower to avoid gasping out loud as she felt the electrifying touch of Aria's fingertips against her burning, sensitized flesh. "My, my," Aria chuckled, sounding irritatingly amused. "And you claimed you were not up for this. The evidence points to the contrary," she added, her fingers gently testing Tevos' wetness, chuckling again when the councilor's hips bucked against her hand.

"Aria, please, let's just-" Tevos moaned, mentally begging to feel Aria's fingers slipping into her, the need to Join beginning to grow and becoming urgent.

"Oh no, not so fast, my pet," Aria laughed. "You claimed that you were too tired for this. I'm intent on proving that you were not entirely truthful about that..." she whispered, flicking her tongue against the councilor's neck folds, her fingertips brushing teasingly against her bondmate's entrance, but avoiding pushing deeper, despite Tevos craving for it desperately. "Well... what are you waiting for?" the Pirate Queen asked, the suggestion eventually triggering in her bondmate's brain as she realized just what Aria had meant, driving forward with her hips with a cry of pleasure, impaling herself on Aria's fingers.

A moment later, Tevos let out another cry, this time one of frustration when Aria did not offer her any more penetration, appearing perfectly content to keep her fingers buried deep into her bondmate's velvety softness. "Please... Aria, I need..." Tevos moaned, her body literally on fire, and Aria reluctant to provide any relief.

"Oh, I know what you need, my lovely councilor," Aria hissed. "So why don't you go ahead and take it? Unless you're really too tired..."

"Goddess... please, Aria... don't be cruel..." Tevos gasped, realizing just what kind of game her bondmate intended to play. Knowing that Aria would never relent once she had set her mind to something, there was nothing left for Tevos but to go ahead and do all the work herself. She pulled back a little and then rolled her hips forward again, as Aria kept her hand steady and in position, the councilor catching a steady rhythm, riding on Aria's gently curled fingers, every thrust accompanied with a shuddering moan that stoked the burning need for release within them both.

Aria's other hand left Tevos' breasts and travelled upwards, lone finger slipping into the councilor's mouth, feeling Tevos bite down on the Pirate Queen's digit in order to muffle her screams that grew even louder when Aria adjusted her hand so that upon every thrust that Tevos made with her hips, Aria's thumb came into contact with the councilor's sensitized flesh, brushing against the hardened ridge just above her entrance. Tevos was immediately forced to abandon her carefully controlled rhythm, her knees bending a little as she began to frantically buck her hips against Aria's fingers, the arousal quickly reaching the levels where it became unbearable without the meld.

"Please, Aria... I... I need to Join..." she moaned, her elbows turning into jelly. No longer able to support her own weight, Tevos collapsed on the surface of the desk and squirmed in ecstasy, even as her hips jerked and bucked wildly against Aria's fingers.

Aria had been intent on torturing her bondmate a little more, but the view of Tevos squirming on the desk, at her mercy and so completely and utterly helpless in her pleasure... it enflamed Aria more than she cared to admit. She needed to Join with Tevos, almost as badly as the councilor herself, but still, she gritted her teeth and bit back the permission to meld that she was so very eager to give.

"Aria!" Tevos cried out, having seemingly lost all control over her body, a quivering mess of moans and shudders as she literally pulsed against her bondmate's hand. "I will Join... whether you want... or not..."

_Oh, fuck... this is too much,_ something snapped in Aria's mind, her bondmate's reaction making it all unbearable for her. "Join with me," she gasped, sinking her teeth into Tevos' shoulder, preparing herself from the inevitable explosion of sensations that always accompanied the meld after she had pushed Tevos so far into delaying the joining of their minds. Nothing had quite prepared her for such intensity, desperation and need of this meld, however, Tevos' release sweeping them both away like a wildfire, and for what seemed like ages they both simply swam in darkness, two souls intertwined in burning, all-encompassing ecstasy, making them oblivious to any sensations other than their love, devotion and desire for each other.

_'Goddess... I guess you were right, Aria...' _Tevos sent across the meld as they slowly began to emerge from the depths of Joining where they were no longer two separate entities, but one whole. _'I will never be too tired for something like this.' _

_'I told you so,' _somehow Aria still managed to feel smug even in their melds. _'And the evening is still young... I'm not quite done with you, my lovely pet.' _

_'Oh...' _unsurprisingly, Tevos did not feel disappointed. _'In that case... could I suggest the sofa? My legs are starting to fall asleep...' _

_'I suppose I can concede as much,' _Aria chuckled inwardly. _'Sofa it is...'_


	36. Silver Coast Casino

_A/N: I received a lot of guest reviews for the last chapter, which I suppose was due to the site being wonky on Monday and logging a lot of people out without them realizing. I'm afraid I couldn't identify everyone who reviewed, and thus was not able to get back to you with a reply! So I'm just going to take this opportunity to express some appreciation for those reviews here. Guys, you rock! _

**Chapter 36 – Silver Coast Casino**

_Year 2201 CE  
Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

"So, Shepard... confess, what's your game, quasar or roulette?" Miranda Lawson asked, standing on the stairs leading up to the Silver Coast Casino. Wearing a long, curve fitting red dress with a daring cut across the front of the garment, displaying her generous cleavage and flat, powerful planes of her stomach, the dark-haired Spectre looked like she was ready to turn the heads of the casino patrons.

"I bet it's quasar," Kasumi chuckled, next to Miranda, hands on her hips, grinning coquettishly. The former thief was wearing a dress that was very reminiscent of the one that Morgan had worn when infiltrating Donovan Hock's party, spectacularly showing off a lovely pair of legs. "I have heard an old legend about Shepard liking quasar so badly that she once got banned from the Flux because of too much quasar love."

"Hey!" Morgan replied with a pout. "I thought that salarian was totally trustworthy!"

Kasumi just chuckled and shook her head, smiling at Shepard. "Anyway, shall we go in?" she asked.

"Just a moment, ladies," Morgan stopped them, raising her hand as she looked back at the large landing pad near the casino entrance. "I took it upon myself to invite another old friend to our small gathering. I don't think either of you will mind," she smiled, looking at the taxi coming in to land, a grey-haired elderly human easily climbing out of the cab, the woman wearing a simple silvery dress with a matching handbag.

"Dr. Chakwas!" Kasumi's grin only widened as they watched their old friend looking around, for a moment appearing a little lost before spotting them on the stairs and quickly starting to walk towards them in a determined step. "Great idea, Shep, it's been a while since I've ran into Karin."

"Shepard, my dear girl, it's been too long... and ladies, it is very good to see you both," Karin greeted them all, hugging Morgan and then Kasumi, Miranda content with a warm handshake. "I was very surprised when you said you wanted to meet at a casino of all places. It could not be further from the kind of locales I tend to frequent."

"It'll be fine, I'm not really here for the gambling myself," Morgan replied, the four of them proceeding upstairs to enter the casino proper.

"Yes, Shepard got a tip that this place serves some of the best booze on the Citadel, that's what managed to catch her interest," Miranda added with a chuckle.

"Traitor!" Morgan gave Miranda a half-hearted glare that only succeeded in making the other woman laugh. Once they had reached the main floor of the casino, an attendant greeted them before quickly bringing them to one of the private booths surrounding the central hall, the place filled with roulette tables, quasar machines and much, much more.

As soon as they had taken their seats, another attendant promptly arrived, carrying a tray with drinks, a gesture that had impressed even Aria. "Ooh, saké," Kasumi cheered, nodding approvingly. "And in a proper saké set," she pointed at the funny looking flask and a small glass in a wooden box. "Of course, Shepard would get whiskey, that makes sense," she looked up, smiling at Morgan.

"Yeah, eighteen year old Laphroaig? I'll take it, please!" Shepard nodded happily, adding a few drops of water into her glass to release the smoky flavor of her drink. "And figured that Karin would get her favorite Serrice ice brandy. Damn, I should remember to bring you some from Thessia, I can probably get it much cheaper than you have it here on the Citadel."

"There is no need to bother, Shepard, the clinic is providing me with more income than I can spend," Dr. Chakwas shook her head. "I'm more interested in how they knew that it was my favorite."

"Probably through illegal use of our biometric data and purchase history at Citadel grocery stores, a method likely to be in violation with several laws concerning private data protection," Miranda rolled her eyes, looking unimpressed with the methods of the casino management... even if she appeared very happy about the interesting looking cocktail that had been placed before her.

"Never mind that, Miri, I'm more interested in what's that you're drinking?" Kasumi asked curiously.

"Uh, well... it's just something I'm rather fond of," Miranda tried evasively, sighing when three expectant pair of eyes continued to bore at her, demanding a more detailed explanation. "The name of the cocktail is... err, Perfection."

"Ha! Something from your more pretentious days, eh, Miranda?" Shepard chuckled, earning a dark glare from the ex-Cerberus operative.

"I knew you would focus on something insignificant like the name," Miranda rolled her eyes. "The point is that the drink is tasty and that is all."

"Oh? Can I try? Just a little sip?" Morgan asked, Miranda looking a little reluctant before allowing Shepard to reach out and take the glass. "Mmm... fruity... smooth... but with a kick!" Morgan nodded approvingly, handing the glass back to Miranda. "I like it. Even if it has a pretentious name!"

"So, Shepard, will you tell us all about Aria T'Loak now?" Kasumi pressed, looking giddy with anticipation.

"Are you kidding?" Morgan shook her head. "We've only just started. I'd have to be... really quite drunk to share something about Aria."

"Bah..." Kasumi sighed. "I guess I'll just hit the quasar machines for a bit then, until you're ready to spill the beans!"

"Just remember, no hacking and cheating!" Morgan warned the retreating ex-thief.

"Oh, that is rich coming from someone who has gotten herself banned from a casino," Kasumi rolled her eyes in reply. "I haven't been banned once, I'll have you know!"

Morgan sighed. "Is there some embarrassing detail about my past that she doesn't know about?" she asked, looking skywards in a way that made both Miranda and Dr. Chakwas laugh.

"Probably not," Karin smiled, taking another sip of the brandy before her expression became a little more somber. "So... there's a new councilor speaking for us, humans. I wonder if that is a reason to celebrate... she seems like a very dedicated young woman. In fact, Miranda, she reminds me a little of you."

"I suppose I can see some similarities," Miranda agreed diplomatically, exchanging a quick glance with Shepard, both wordlessly agreeing not to burden Karin with all their reservations towards Councilor Hock. "Now... if you would please excuse me, I would like to try my luck at the roulette table. Perhaps you could join me later, Shepard?" Miranda said, rising from the table and taking her glass of Perfection with her.

"Of course, Miranda," Morgan nodded at her fellow Spectre, understanding the hint, Miranda wanting to speak with her in private. "So, Karin..." she turned back towards Dr. Chakwas again. "You were saying about Councilor Hock... I agree, she seems decent, despite being from Terra Firma. I wonder what working with her will be like."

"She may be decent, but she can never hope to compete with Steven and his legacy, though," Chakwas said, looking deeply saddened for a moment, taking another sip of her drink before continuing. "I still can't believe he's gone, it was just so very... unreal. I... miss him a great deal."

Morgan reached out and put her hand on Karin's shoulder, squeezing it supportively. "I know that you two were close. I'm... very sorry for what happened," she said softly.

"Yes... it was not simply a loss for humanity. I felt it as a great personal loss," Karin managed a sad smile. "We were in contact often and saw each other once or twice every month. He often came to me before making a difficult decision, just... needing to unburden himself to someone. I simply allowed him to speak, to let out whatever was on his mind... and I think it helped him. Now and then we went out to an opera, or theatre, but not too often, we did not want to attract the attention of the paparazzi."

"Do you ever regret not having said 'screw them all' and just taking that chance?"

Morgan asked.

"What? Oh... oh, no," Karin Chakwas blushed lightly, before laughing and shaking her head. "No, we were content with what we had. But you know how it is with the media, they would have never accepted the explanation that we were simply friends. I did care for him greatly... I admired him like I have rarely admired anyone, but... the feelings were purely platonic and that is the truth."

"Are you lonely, Karin?" Morgan asked simply.

"No... no, Shepard, child, it is sweet of you to be concerned of me, but you don't have to worry," Karin smiled, briefly embracing Morgan. "There was time, the first month after Steven's death, when I did feel lonely and a little abandoned, but Chloe took care of me, and some of our old friends here on the Citadel made sure to visit me more often. And I have made new friends over the years, through my work at the new clinic... I am anything but alone, Shepard."

"Okay... that's good to hear," Morgan smiled, feeling relieved. "One of these days, though, I want you to come over to Thessia and stay with our family at the T'Soni Estate for a week or two. You could do with a vacation, I'm sure."

"That does sound lovely, Shepard," Chakwas nodded. "I'll see about putting some time aside for a visit."

"And how is Chloe doing? It has been a while since I've heard anything about her," Morgan asked. "I saw Councilor Sparatus earlier today at the Council Chambers, and it reminded me to ask whether they are still together."

"Oh yes, very much so," Karin smiled, looking much happier now. "They actually married three years ago on Palaven, very properly and following all the strictest turian traditions. Ever since that Chloe has been trying to convince her new husband to do another ceremony, this one following the human traditions... and I think she's finally about to get her way. All signs point to it, at least."

Morgan chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, I guess they're not the strangest couple I've seen," she said, noticing Kasumi returning back to their booth, carrying a stack of credits in her hands, carefully balancing her loot and trying not to drop any of it. "I said not to cheat, Kasumi," Shepard grinned at her friend as she sat back down at the table and poured herself the remaining saké.

"Some of us can get by perfectly well without cheating, Shepard," Kasumi glared back at her, looking unimpressed.

"Fine, I guess I'll trust you with that," Shepard added conciliatory. "Could you keep Karin company for a while, Kasumi? I'll go check up on Miranda, make sure she doesn't lose everything at the roulette table, including her sexy dress."

"That would be quite the sight," Kasumi giggled, then waving for Shepard to get up. "And sure, feel free to ditch us, Shep. Have fun with Miri and don't end up losing your own dress, I doubt Liara would appreciate that."

"Ever the wiseass," Morgan muttered, getting up from the table, accompanied by the chuckling of her friends as she set out to find Miranda, quickly finding Spectre Lawson by one of the roulette tables, the red dress making her very easy to spot, acting almost like a beacon in attracting the stares of everyone in the casino. In fact, most of the patrons surrounding the table that Miranda stood at, leaning a little over it in a very risqué way, seemed fixated not at the game itself, but on more or less openly admiring Miranda's impressive physique. _She's too good for all these losers, _Morgan quickly decided, impulsively wrapping her arm around Miranda's waist, at the same time giving a smug, victorious grin aimed at the others surrounding the table. "Oh, Miri, there you are," she said sweetly. "I've been looking all over the place for you!"

"Yes, Shepard?" Miranda gave her an odd stare, for now deciding to ignore Morgan's arm around her waist. "What's with the-... oh, damnation," she cursed as the croupier called out 'twelve, red' and swept away the credits that Miranda had placed on the table.

"Shush, I'm just getting rid of some of your admirers," Morgan whispered, leaning a little closer. "And I see you're doing well at the game... or not," she added, noticing that the stack of Miranda's chits had rapidly dwindled to pathetic size.

"Well, if you have any suggestions, I'm willing to listen to them," Miranda gave her a smile as Morgan finally removed her arm, most of the drooling males having left the table in disappointment. "And what admir-... oh, you mean the small crowd of the salivating _nouveau riche_ following me around and undressing me with their eyes? They're amusingly pathetic, thinking that they have a chance," Miranda chuckled.

"Anyway, you wanted my advice on how to succeed at this game, eh?" Morgan said, thoughtfully rubbing her brow, then combining all Miranda's remaining chits in a neat, small stack, dropping them on a single number bet. "I've got a really good feeling about this, Miri. It's going to be twenty-six, you'll see!"

"Shepard... you never have any luck at these games of chance," Miranda shook her head, looking disbelieving. "Have you ever won anything at all?"

"Certainly not at the roulette table, but like I said, I have a really good feeling about this," Morgan replied cheerfully. "Trust me on this one."

"You… have got to be kidding me..." Miranda said, quickly moving the pile of credits onto the next square, twenty-seven, just in time as the croupier released the ball. "I think the best advice at this game is, if you want to win anything, just do everything opposite to what Shepard does."

"Twenty-six, black," the croupier happily announced fifteen seconds later, Miranda letting out a pained groan and smacking a palm against her forehead.

"You know," Morgan said, giving Miranda her best attempt at irritated glare. "I should shoot you for this."

"Yes," Miranda agreed, surprisingly readily. "Yes, you probably should shoot me for this..."

"Anyway... since you no longer have any credits..." Morgan said, taking Miranda by the hand and pulling the other Spectre away from the table. "We can just step aside for a moment and you can tell me what you wanted to speak to me about."

"Of course, Shepard," Miranda nodded quickly, appearing willing to get away from the roulette disaster as quickly as possible, the two of them stepping a little away from the crowds, into a small alcove at the side of a water fountain, the splashing sounds of water allowing them to speak without fear of being overheard.

"Well, what have you got that Kasumi and Karin should not know about?" Morgan eventually asked, giving a stern look and harsh shake of her head to two young human male patrons hesitantly moving towards them with obvious intent, looking as if they were already practicing pick-up lines on the way.

"Shepard... I might have not been entirely truthful during the Council interview," Miranda confessed. Morgan did not say a word, simply giving Miranda a look that urged her to elaborate. "I did not give them the full truth when they asked me about what the Systems Alliance were up to."

"You said something about developing new weapons systems..."

"And that might be true as well, but there is something else that I did not see fit to mention... for the sake of our people, lost as they might be again," Miranda sighed. "I have proof that the Systems Alliance is constructing new dreadnaughts, which is a direct violation of the amended Treaty of Farixen."

"What?" Shepard's head snapped back as if she had been punched. "Have they... gone mad? What reason would they have to do something like that? To risk exclusion from the Council... and for what?"

"That's what I would like to know as well, Shepard," Miranda said, looking frustrated. "The obvious explanation being that the Alliance is readying itself for war..."

"War? With whom?" Shepard let out a breath she wasn't aware of having been holding. "The Galaxy has been as peaceful as I can remember it ever being... we have nobody to go to war with, Miranda!"

"It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" Miranda nodded. "I can't explain it. And we do not know about any new threats on the horizon, so I must surmise that it's the Systems Alliance that plans to become the aggressor..."

"I can't believe-... no, I should not just dismiss it as easily as this..." Morgan's shoulders slumped a little as she sat down on the edge of the fountain. "Who might they be planning to attack, do you have any guesses, Miri?"

"I have a hunch, and if I'm right... this could turn very nasty for our people, Shepard," the frustration on Miranda's face shifted towards anger. "You are aware that the Alliance Command is trying to bleed the Traverse colonies dry of resources, and the colonies are now starting to organize and put up spirited resistance to the demands of the Alliance. I am deeply worried that the Alliance Command might be considering bringing in the fleets to keep the colonies in line. This could turn very bloody, very quick... the colonies have been doing recruiting and increasing the size of their own military personnel."

"Great... so, we're back to shooting our own people?" Morgan groaned, feeling pissed off beyond belief. "They think that the Council will just sit idly and not call us out on this shit? It won't be just an internal matter of the Systems Alliance. There are millions of aliens living alongside humans on the Traverse worlds, and if military conflict breaks out, they will be caught in crossfire, their governments will be forced to interfere!"

"You'd expect the Alliance Command to realize that, wouldn't you?" Miranda asked sarcastically. "Anyway... sorry for dumping that on you, Shepard. I hope I'm wrong, but-"

"When have you ever been wrong, Miri?" Morgan shook her head again. "Okay, just now at the roulette table, but aside of that, very rarely if ever! But anyway, thanks for telling me, I needed to know this. Let's keep this under the wraps for now, until we know more, shall we?" Miranda nodded to that. "And now I really need to get back to our booth and have some more of that whiskey. Lots of it, actually..."

"And I need another shot of Perfection," Miranda pointed at her empty glass. "Make that two or three more glasses, I suspect..."

An hour or so later, the four of them were back at their table, conversation taking a far more cheerful and louder turn as the participants became more and more inebriated. Dr. Chakwas had shared a few incredibly amusing tales from her practice at the clinic that might have slightly breached the patient-doctor confidentiality, but everyone was too tipsy to remember the details of those stories later anyway. Everyone had been very happy to hear Miranda's announcement that with Katherine Hock now promoted to the councilor's post, she would be leaving Benning and returning to a permanent stay on the Citadel, well, at least until further deployment on her Spectre work.

"Anyway, Shep, you look pretty sloshed to me now," Kasumi giggled, moving to sit a little closer to Morgan and giving her a friendly jab in the ribs. "Think we can rope you into spilling the beans on Aria T'Loak? What's going on between the two of you?"

"Between me and Aria?" Morgan asked, blushing a little as she shook her head. "I don't think there's anything between me and Aria specifically... she's a friend to the whole family, really. They get along very well with Liara, these days."

"It's just that she is a very interesting friend to have, Shepard," Miranda remarked, almost with a warning in her voice.

"You don't know the half of it," Morgan chuckled, pouring herself the last of the whiskey, then using the in-built interface on the surface of the table to order another drink, the same cocktail that Miranda seemed addicted to. "But well, somehow, she and her whole new family just became a part of our lives on Thessia, and now I can't imagine them not being there anymore, we have grown so close over the years. Saved each other's lives a few times too, that kind of stuff has tendency to create bonds, you know?"

"That doesn't sound too bad, really," Kasumi readily agreed, the grin on her lips then turning naughty. "So, confess, you ever done the mind meld thing with Aria? What was that like?"

"Umm... no, I haven't actually done that with Aria," Morgan replied, her own smile becoming wicked. "But Liara has. Multiple times, actually. Maybe you should ask her..."

"Ha! Always knew that Liara wasn't as innocent as she let on!" Kasumi chuckled, obviously immediately making the wrong assumption and not even letting Morgan explain that there had been nothing sexual about the melds between Liara and Aria. "By the way, Shep, I've been trying to talk Miri into dating an asari like her sister does, you know, becau-"

"Kasumi!" Miranda hissed, giving an angry glare to her friend.

"Oh... yikes, sorry, sorry!" Kasumi hastily apologized. "I'm sure that idea came up for no reason at all! Besides, Miri isn't really responsive to the idea anyway..." she turned back to Shepard again. "Hey, Shep, maybe you could help me come up with some kind of really convincing sales pitch why anyone should date an asari?"

"Oh boy... you've come to the right person for that kind of advice, obviously," Morgan grinned. "But it's kind of private stuff, so I'm not just going to shout out about it to the whole Citadel, yes?"

"Shepard, I am frankly shocked and insulted," Kasumi mock-gasped. "You should know that I am above and beyond something like gossiping!"

"Of course, Kasumi... it's the other blabbermouths at this table that I don't trust," Morgan said with an expressive eye-roll, making everyone but Kasumi break into laughter. "Anyway… come over here and I'll explain everything to you," Shepard added, pulling Kasumi a little closer and leaning in to whisper in the ear of the petite ex-thief.

"Yep, I figured that the melding thing works like that," Kasumi nodded with a broad grin after Morgan had finished whispering to her.

"Well, there's more," Morgan grinned, moving to continue.

"Oh? Oh... wait... wait, wait, wait... you mean to say... everything?" Kasumi asked in a squeaky voice, her cheeks coloring deep red.

"Absolutely everything," Morgan nodded with a serious expression on her face, before whispering a few more things in Kasumi's ear.

"So it's like... double the feedback... and double of everything?" Kasumi asked, quickly reaching out to grab her drink and downing a few gulps of the saké. "That means when your partner is... umm... well, you know what I mean..."

"Yep. It means exactly what you think it does, Kasumi. And it is the most beautiful, amazing thing I can think of," Morgan finished with a smug grin.

"Whoa... how can you... err, make something so intense last for a meaningful amount of time..." Kasumi managed, squirming a little in her seat.

"You can't, you just... do a lot of repeat performances, my friend," Morgan chuckled, reaching for the glass of her recently delivered Perfection.

"Damn it..." Kasumi looked thoughtful, and a little flustered from what she had just learned, wiping a few stray drops of perspiration from her forehead. "Um... almost makes me consider dating an asari myself..."

"Ha, I think you should," Miranda gave her a stern stare. "Taste that medicine yourself before prescribing it to me!"

"Um... yeah, I'm just not sure I can get past the fact that they look like women, you know..." Kasumi blushed.

"Well, just find someone with a slightly flat chest, not every asari is as well endowed as Li-" Morgan suddenly cut herself off, blushing. "Err, I don't think I was supposed to say that," she admonished herself, glaring at the glass of Perfection. "Damn, this drink is tricky!"

"It's not just about them having breasts, and you know that," Kasumi gave Morgan a small glare. "I know they're technically... not women, but... I mean, seriously... their voices, the way they move and carry themselves… they very much feel like women to me."

"Strange how that can be a problem for you, but I'm not allowed to have the same preferences," Miranda sighed, looking at Kasumi.

"Hey, Miri, don't give me that bull, I've seen your adds on the extranet dating service sites many years ago," Kasumi laughed. "You never specified looking exclusively for male partners..."

"Well now, this is a very interesting development, miss Lawson," Karin joined in, all three of them sharing a hearty laugh at Miranda's expense.

"It was an honest mistake! I just failed to tick a single checkbox because I didn't notice it, and you're trying to make something out of nothing!" Miranda protested angrily, then muttering something before taking another sip of her drink. "I hate you, Kasumi. I hate you all..."


	37. Messages From The Traverse

_A/N: Slightly naughty Shepard/Liara stuff in this chapter, and I must confess to stealing a little joke from the Citadel DLC. I guess it would have worked even better if the chapter number was #69, but heck, this will have to do. _

**Chapter 37 – Messages From The Traverse**

_Year 2201 CE  
Citadel, Serpent Nebula _

Spectre Kasumi Goto paced around the lobby of the human councilor's office in the Council Chambers, waiting for one of the new aides that Katherine Hock had brought with her from New Benning to show her in to meet their new boss. It was difficult and unpleasant to admit to herself, but she did feel some nervousness that probably was not entirely rational, as was her decision to wear one of her light combat suits with the hood, making it difficult to see her face clearly. _She doesn't know that you killed her father, Kasumi, _she told herself for the umpteenth time. _So, just relax and everything will be fine. _

"Spectre Goto?" one of the aides called out after a few more minutes of waiting, pacing around the lobby. "Please proceed inside, the councilor will see you now." Kasumi nodded gratefully as she passed by, unable to stop feeling as if she wanted this meeting to be over and done with as quickly as possible.

Inside, Councilor Hock stood with her back turned towards Kasumi, just about to end a vid call with an elderly human in Systems Alliance dress blues, Kasumi identifying the man as one of the Alliance Command, Admiral Stefanowicz. "Ah, Spectre Goto, glad you could make it," Hock said, turning back towards her after the vid screen of her terminal had gone dark. "Please, sit down," she simply pointed at the empty seat by her desk.

"Thank you, ma'am," Kasumi replied politely, taking the seat. So far it was hard to make anything out of this Katherine Hock. She _looked _pleasant enough, lovely brown curls of hair, delicate, aristocratic face with high, regal cheekbones, eyes that did not feel neither warm nor cold, merely scrutinizing, and gave the young woman a very dedicated and businesslike appearance.

"Since there are still not nearly enough human Spectres serving this Council, I have decided to invite each and every of you for a private audience, simply as a part of me getting up to speed with the way things are being run here," the councilor said, allowing herself a small smile. "Everything is a little overwhelming at the moment."

"I can certainly sympathize with that," Kasumi again remained distantly polite. "And while I'm sure that all my fellow human Spectres would feel honored by an audience, I trust you have been introduced to the order of assigning Spectres to their tasks."

"Yes, of course, Spectres serve the Council, not simply the councilor of their respective species," Hock spoke, lips knitted tightly, making Kasumi wonder whether she had already managed to annoy the councilor. "Still, as long as any given Spectre is currently not assigned on a specific mission, I can pick and choose as I see fit... is that right?" Kasumi responded with a small nod. "As I thought. Which brings me to the other reason why I wished to speak with you first, Spectre Goto. I have gone through your files, and to my understanding, you are currently awaiting to be assigned on a new task?"

"That is correct, Madame Councilor," Kasumi replied.

"I was made curious by this last task that you undertook," Hock retrieved a datapad and clicked on it, viewing the stored information. "As I understand you were pursuing a dangerous criminal called the Shadow Boxer?"

"The Shadow Broker," Kasumi corrected, biting back a chortle. If Katherine Hock was an actress trying to look naive and incompetent, then she was doing an amazing job of it. "An information broker, the most influential one in the galaxy. But I suppose you are not wrong in referring to them as a dangerous criminal."

"Yes, of course, the Shadow Broker, how silly of me," Hock smiled again, putting the datapad aside. "I heard the name mentioned now and then in the corridors of the New Arc, and always in context with threats to the interests of the humanity... certainly, they are someone that must be watched carefully, I think. And it says here that you were assigned to this task by the asari councilor... at the time it would have been Councilor Irissa, correct?"

"That would be correct, ma'am," Kasumi said. Formally, the order had come from Irissa, but in earnest, Shepard had arranged everything following the Citadel attack on Councilor Tevos, asking Irissa to give Kasumi a free reign to hunt down the dangerous intel broker.

"However, the mission was deemed unsuccessful and later scrapped," Councilor Hock continued her inquiry. "Can you tell me why the asari councilor so readily accepted the defeat in this task?"

"I believe that Councilor Irissa lost interest in pursuing the Shadow Broker after the defamation attacks on the Asari Republics ceased," Kasumi shrugged her shoulders noncommittally.

"Certainly a possible explanation, yes," the councilor agreed, her face slightly scrunched as she considered something. "But... I see several of your reports that are dated with time after Councilor Irissa had officially aborted the mission?"

Kasumi shifted in her chair uncomfortably, starting to hate Hock's manner, trying to fool her into thinking that she didn't know what she was talking about, when in fact, the councilor was perfectly prepared. _I wonder how many gullible fools she has lured into a trap this way... probably way too many. Fortunately, I know better. She's more than she appears... a great deal more... if only I knew what exactly she is playing at, though._ "Yes, that is correct," Kasumi eventually said. "Since I was not immediately assigned on a new mission, I decided to continue the investigation in my spare time."

"I see. But you still have not been assigned on any new missions since the time of your last report here," Hock remarked, continuing with her irritating logic. "Why, then, did you choose to stop your investigation? You appeared to be finally seeing some results, unless I am mistaken?"

"Well... I'm not sure that nearly getting myself killed by three Shadow Broker agents is a lot to show for," Kasumi shrugged. "Besides, it didn't lead to me learning anything new, not really."

"Doesn't your work as a Spectre demand that you constantly put your life in danger? I mean... it seems a little... odd, to discontinue your investigation simply because of that?"

"Madame Councilor, it is one thing to put my life in danger when I am actually asked to do so on my job to protect the galaxy," Kasumi replied, unable to keep a hint of annoyance out of her voice. "In my spare time, I prefer not to needlessly endanger my life in suicidal undertakings."

"Yes, I can't argue that logic," Katherine Hock conceded amiably. "Did you ever consider that such a serious response from the Shadow Broker implied that you were on the right track with your investigation?"

"No, Madame Councilor, I did not consider that," Kasumi shrugged again. "As I said, there were no further leads resulting from that particular incident, and as such, I soon lost interest in the case myself."

"Well... I still insist that we are giving up too easily here," Councilor Hock said determinedly. "The goodwill that we could earn from all the other Council races if we could bring this criminal to justice... it could be very important for humanity, Spectre Goto, wouldn't you agree?"

"I... have no opinion on the matter," Kasumi replied, trying to appear indifferent, her brain working overtime to try and make sense of just what the new human councilor was planning. "I am here to serve the Council in whatever capacity I can."

"Exactly! And that is why I am assigning you back to this dangerous, but very important mission," Councilor Hock nodded, giving her a supportive smile, even if Kasumi was left unconvinced about it being genuine. "Spectre Goto, I task you with hunting down the Shadow Broker and bringing this individual to justice for the greater good of humanity and the whole galaxy."

"As you wish, Councilor Hock. I will resume my investigation immediately," Kasumi said, trying to maintain her impassive facial expression. _Damn it, what is she trying to do? Maybe she does know that I have killed her father and she's trying to get me killed on the most dangerous mission she can come up with? _

"I understand that considering the way this illusive criminal operates, the task may seem very daunting," Katherine Hock continued. "To aid you with this mission, I will speak with the other councilors and some of your fellow Spectres, and I will try to get you as much support as I can manage. If anyone amongst us here has any intel on the Shadow Broker or his agents, I will make sure that it falls into your hands, Spectre Goto."

"That would be very helpful, Madame Councilor," Kasumi said, not for one moment buying Hock's reasoning for wanting to eliminate the Shadow Broker. "If I may ask... the Shadow Broker has been a constant part in the galactic politics for many decades. Many believe that it is the presence of the Broker that has ensured the status quo and the galactic stability during many conflicts. Furthermore... there is a possibility that some of my colleagues amongst the Spectres have in the past used the Broker resources to advance their own investigations. It is... difficult for me to predict whether your call for support won't fall on deaf auditory organs."

"A legitimate concern, and I thank you for speaking your mind, Spectre Goto," Hock nodded, looking pleased. "But I would ask you to consider one thing. Shadow Broker changed the rules of the game when they decided to for some reason turn against the Asari Republics and cause enormous damage to their entire political structure, and I am not even talking about the economic ramifications. We still do not know why the Shadow Broker turned on the asari, but one thing is clear, the Broker is no longer the predictable, impartial force it once was. Yesterday the target was asari, but can you or anyone else tell me who it might be tomorrow? Perhaps the salarians, or the turians... but what if it is humanity who might be on the receiving end?"

"Yes, I see your point, councilor," Kasumi nodded, feeling a little impressed by Hock's reasoning. _She's good. She really is very good. If she's truly up to no good, and I have a solid reason to think that she is involved in something dirty... exposing this woman might be difficult. And she could actually sell this idea to the other councilors and my fellow Spectres... damn it! _

"Then you agree that the Shadow Broker needs to be stopped?" Councilor Hock asked, Kasumi put against the wall and only able to nod in agreement. "Wonderful. In that case we are done here," she said, keeping her eyes on Kasumi's face as the Spectre rose from her seat. "Best of luck on your mission, Spectre Goto... I will be awaiting your first report with much trepidation," Hock called after her as Kasumi walked out of the office, feeling even more worried than before her audience with the new human councilor.

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

"Hey, everyone! I'm home!" Spectre Morgan Shepard shouted, pulling her heavy suitcases across the doorstep of the T'Soni Estate, expecting a jubilant welcome from her wonderful, loving family.

"Daddy!" predictably, Lita was there first, bolting across the large foyer and crashing into her father with a loud 'oomph' coming from Shepard as her daughter wrapped her arms around Morgan's waist and pressed her head against Shepard's chest, snuggling tightly and comfortably. "I missed you many lots!"

"Hey, kiddo, I thought about you all the time too," Morgan smiled, gently putting her arms around her daughter in return. "And mommy as well, where is she?"

"Here I am, Shepard," Liara's voice came, warm and soft, a delight to Morgan's ears as she watched her bondmate rushing towards them to join in the comforting, loving embrace. "We expected you two days ago, what kept you?"

"The civilian travel between the colonies is starting to become a little... unreliable," Morgan replied, shaking her head as Liara regarded her with a curious look, urging her to explain. "Let's discuss that part later, honey. For now, let me just bask in your presence and enjoy the feeling of being home again..."

"Did you bring us something?" Lita asked expectantly, peeling away from her father and giving the bulging suitcases a hopeful stare.

"Perhaps... but first I want to know what you have been up to," Morgan replied, chuckling at the scowl on Lita's face. "How are things at the school?"

"Great! I mean... well, good... I think..." Lita hesitated, blinking as she thought frantically. "I helped the team win three more games and extend the record! But... umm, I also failed math... stupid math. Oh, and the director wants to see you and mom about some fight I started a few days ago..."

"...you know, kiddo, not all the things you mentioned just now are great... or potentially deserving a reward," Morgan sighed.

"She won't let me help with her math lessons, either," Liara complained.

"Mom! We've been over this already..." Lita pouted. "I'll take care of it myself! It's just stupid math... I can do it."

"Well, self-reliance and determination are good qualities to have," Morgan nodded.

"Shepard, she is fourteen, she is not expected to be self-reliant for several more decades," Liara opined.

"I know that, love," Morgan smiled, turning back to their daughter. "Okay, kiddo, we'll leave you to deal with the Math Monster on your own, but if the bugger is too tough, please, you know that you can always ask me or mommy for help, yes? It's not a sign of weakness to ask for help. Mommy and daddy can't always deal with everything on their own either, and then we ask our loved ones to help us."

"Sure, dad, I will," Lita agreed, Morgan affectionately stroking the top of her crest.

"Now, about this fight?" Morgan continued her inquiries. "Sounds serious if the director wants to speak with us?"

"Just some stupid kids trying to make fun of me not having their fancy biotics," Lita ground out angrily, Morgan hugging her daughter more tightly at that, herself having deep hatred for schoolyard bullies. While she had never particularly suffered from that problem, she knew that Liara had, and the memories her bondmate had shared via the meld had been excruciatingly painful to watch. "Well, they might have their biotics, but they don't have the moves that you and Shiala have taught me," Lita added with a wicked grin.

"One of the girls who taunted her fell awkwardly after Lita punched her and dislocated her shoulder," Liara explained. "She was in a lot of pain, and her parents went to complain to the director. The security feeds caught the incident, and the director shot the girl's parents down, but she still wants to talk things over with us."

"Okay, I guess we should go and have that chat with her. I imagine it's just something that needs to be done after such an incident," Morgan said, Liara nodding in agreement. "As for you, young lady..." Shepard briefly touched her daughter's chin, forcing her to look upwards into her father's eyes. "I'm... very proud of you. Good job standing up for yourself, kiddo. That definitely merits a reward."

"I... would have hoped for you to advocate a more diplomatic solution to such incidents, Shepard," Liara sighed, scowling a little.

"Hey... schoolyard bullies unfortunately understand only one language, fist to the face. You know it yourself, honey," Morgan said, Liara finally nodding with slight reluctance.

"So... does that mean you did bring us something?" Lita gave another hopeful look at the suitcases.

"Yeah, one of those bags should be stuffed with all kinds of exotic human foods," Shepard chuckled. "But mostly with what you ordered, yes."

"Chocolate!" Lita cheered, jerking towards the suitcases, but her father's strong arms held her tightly.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty," Shepard warned. "We all remember what happened the last time..." They had introduced their daughter to chocolate four years ago when Morgan had brought some back with her from the Citadel. Lita had eaten so much of it at once that it had led to a very unpleasant allergic outbreak, covering her skin with itchy rash. It had not turned Lita off from chocolate, not in the slightest, and fortunately the doctors had not outright forbidden her to eat it, simply asking to maintain some moderation.

"I won't eat too much, honest!" Lita pleaded, struggling to break free.

"I'm sure you won't, but I think your mommy will agree that it would be better not to tempt you," Morgan chuckled, Liara nodding fervently. "After all, there is a huge amount of it, all for you, and it's not going to disappear anywhere. And you want to make it last, because it's so much better than any of those cheap imports you can buy here on Thessia."

"Umm," Liara spoke up, looking wide-eyed and hopeful, bearing a very stark resemblance to her daughter at that very moment. "I would not refuse some of the chocolate myself. I am rather... partial to it." Instead of replying, Morgan simply pointed to the other suitcase without their daughter noticing. "Oh..." Liara hastily exclaimed. "You are correct, Lita has earned it all."

"Let's see... oh, Shiala!" Morgan said, having noticed the House T'Soni commando leader also having arrived at the foyer, Matriarch Aethyta standing a little behind her, watching the lovingly embraced family with an enigmatic smile on her lips. "Shiala, I hereby promote you to be the Guardian of the Chocolate Trove. You know how much Lita is allowed to have, so I'm putting you in charge of making sure she doesn't eat too much and doesn't get sick again."

"Very well, Shepard," Shiala laughed, grabbing the suitcase and beginning to haul it upstairs. "It is good to have you back with us, by the way," she added, while dragging her load away.

"Bah, dad... you're still treating me like a baby..." Lita sulked, but still released Morgan and set to follow Shiala around like a hopeful, expectant puppy.

"I'll echo what Shiala said, Shepard, it is good to have you back," Aethyta added, coming closer to her and Liara. "If only to stop Liara and Lita worrying sick about you running behind the schedule."

"Yeah, they kept cancelling one flight after another, and I swear they must have been jamming the comms for some reason as well, though I'm not sure why," Morgan sighed, shaking her head in frustration.

"What's the situation like out there, on the colonies?" Liara asked, sounding anxious. Morgan could understand her only too well, it seemed as if humankind could not catch a break in the years following the Reaper War.

"It's really rather strange," Morgan replied, as the three of them left the foyer and stepped into one of the living rooms on the lower floor of the estate. "I mean, at least I got to visit Eden Prime when it wasn't being invaded by the geth or Cerberus, so that part was nice. And Constant is a really beautiful city, clean, tidy, with many beautiful parks. But... you could just feel the tension in the air, it was so very palpable. And it showed in the faces of everyone I spoke to, the locals had always been nice and helpful, but now they were tense, suspicious of everyone they didn't know. They must have thought me of yet another Alliance rep in disguise."

"So, Miranda is right, then?" Liara asked, her voice trembling lightly. "The Alliance are gearing for war with their own colonies?"

"I don't know, I suspect that they are still hoping that they can avoid outright war," Morgan shrugged. "I think they just want to bring in the big muscle and hope that the colonies fold and fall in the line. I'm not sure that's going to work, though. I saw a lot of militia recruitment posters and vids on Constant and everywhere around Eden Prime. They're gearing up too, at the same time as the Alliance are doing their own groundwork. Alliance presence is increasing daily, expanding bases, building new ones, adding new patrols... I think that everyone on the colonies feels like the hammer is about to drop, they just don't know when."

"A difficult situation, indeed," Aethyta nodded. "I don't think that the Council can interfere at this moment, other than just post more eyes on the human colonies to observe the situation. But until the sides begin to shoot at each other and people start dying, this is an internal matter of the Alliance. I know, the situation is about as appealing as a steaming pile of varren dung, but even I couldn't give Tevos hard time over this, there's not much she can do."

"Yeah, I agree, and I already talked it over with her," Morgan said, beginning to feel a little tired from the long journey from Eden Prime. "She told me that Hock is repeatedly asking for me, the little bitch seems really eager to meet me for some reason. At least Tevos will keep her off my back by keeping me assigned on further missions to the colonies."

"Does that mean you will be leaving soon again?" Liara's face fell immediately.

"Not for a few weeks, love," Morgan took her bondmate's hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. "Miranda took the Horizon assignment, as I expected she would do. I'll make a stop at Scott on Terra Nova, see what the situation there is like. Not sure that place is a great spot for chocolate, though," she added with forced laughter.

"Please, this is not a joking matter, Morgan," Liara admonished, wringing her hands nervously. "We stand on the precipice of another military conflict, my thoughts are only on your safety."

"Your people have been unlucky in having bad leaders representing them, Shepard," Aethyta said, shaking her head. "Of course, I could have said the same about Tevos being an embarrassment prior and during stretches of the Reaper War, but at least she has smartened up a bit since then. I think the Alliance is due for some serious reforms. Perhaps more power needs to be placed with your colonial leaders. I have met a fair share of human colonists and they always seemed more open-minded than those deeply committed to your homeworld."

"Yeah, I'd agree with that assessment," Morgan nodded, then breaking into a wide yawn, quickly moving to apologize. "Sorry, but I'm just a bit tired after the journey... I'm starting to feel like taking a shower and then perhaps getting some shuteye."

"You really think Liara's going to allow you to simply go to sleep once you get as far as the bedroom?" Aethyta chuckled, giving her daughter a knowing stare. "The past few days she's been acting as if she has a very specific itch that only you can scratch, Shepard."

"I... uh..." Morgan blushed fiercely, noticing that Liara hadn't even moved to admonish her father as she usually did, but was instead eyeing her with an openly hungry stare. "...we'll see," she added, swallowing heavily, herself feeling a little giddy from the anticipation. "...still, shower first!"

* * *

When Morgan left the shower fifteen minutes later, brushing herself dry with a fluffy towel, the first thing she noticed upon walking into her and Liara's bedroom was the sight of her bondmate, shamelessly going through the contents of the suitcase she had dragged upstairs with them.

"Liara!" she exclaimed with admonishment.

"What?" Liara looked up at her innocently, hands and lips smeared with traces of chocolate. A wave of warmth quickly passed through Morgan as she watched Liara licking her lips first, then slowly sucking on her fingers, cleaning them with her lips and tongue.

"I had planned to tease you with that chocolate," Morgan pouted. "You know, offering it to you as a reward for certain sexual favors that you would have to provide for me..."

"Well, Shepard..." Liara's voice became husky, giving Morgan goose-bumps. "Then I believe you have just lost the upper hand..."

"Hmm, indeed... and what else of interest have you discovered in my suitcase?" Morgan winked at her bondmate.

"Oh, I believe I have found something very interesting, yes," Liara smiled, retrieving a larger box, filled with vials in different shapes and sizes. "Scented massage oils? Intriguing... and a highly commendable idea, Shepard..."

"Thought you might like that," Morgan grinned, stepping a little closer to her bondmate, continuing to rinse herself with the towel, her smile broadening when she noticed how Liara's eyes seemed to follow the movements of the towel, as if transfixed to catch the glimpses of exposed skin. "I see you've managed to open a few as well... any specific aroma that you find enjoyable in particular?"

"I believe this one might become my new favorite," Liara said, picking up one of the vials and reading the label. "Lavender," she said, opening the bottle and taking another whiff of the beautiful scent.

"You know, it loses its potency fairly quickly once the bottle is opened," Shepard remarked innocently. "I just thought I'd mention that."

"Does it? A pity... I would hate to see any of it going to waste," Liara replied, looking at her as if mesmerized. "Perhaps we should..."

"I believe we should, yes..." Morgan nodded, feeling her mouth go dry as Liara rose to her feet and passed the vial over to her. Her eyes never broke contact with Morgan, wide and filled with burning, primal need, as her hands sneaked behind her back and undid the zipper of her robe, letting it fall down at her feet, still keeping their eyes linked as with a sway in her hips, Liara walked up to the bed and slowly slid down to lay on her chest, nude save for her panties.

_And this is why homecomings are the best thing ever. I dislike being apart from her, but... the waiting and the longing does make for some... spectacular fireworks after we have both been reigning our passions in for a week or two... _Morgan thought, tossing the towel aside, climbing into the bed and settling in comfortably next to Liara.

She opened the vial and then poured a few drops on Liara's naked back, feeling herself become even more aroused from the way her bondmate's body gave a light jerk as the liquid hit her skin, Liara responding with a tiny gasp. Shepard reached out and began to spread the oil all across Liara's back, the feel of her bondmate's skin as always a sensation that she could simply not get enough of. From the distance, the asari skin appeared to have a scaly texture similar to a lizard, but it felt even softer than human skin to the actual touch. The best part, of course, came when she forced Liara to lose control to the extent where her biotics cut loose and crackled across her skin, making the sensations of caressing her divine beyond description.

"This is... very nice..." Liara purred, enjoying the feel of Shepard's hands running across her back, exerting slight pressure along her spine and moving further up to attend to her shoulders and neck. "By the way... if you encounter any... inconvenient pieces of clothing... feel free to remove them..."

"I will consider that," Shepard managed, now having to exert slightly more willpower to remain committed to her task. With Liara presenting herself like that to her, offering her wondrous beauty, so vulnerable before her, it was difficult to keep herself in check and not immediately plunge in and take as much as she could get. Still, on the next pass down Liara's body, her arms caught a hold of Liara's panties and in one smooth motion pushed them down Liara's thighs and then pulling them off completely and casually throwing the garment away.

Having spent considerable amount of time massaging Liara's back, Morgan took a deep breath, knowing that her self-control would be challenged even more once she proceeded to the next stage. Still, it did not hold her back from gently rolling Liara over to lay on her back, almost forgetting how to breathe when the glorious sight of her bondmate's nude form was exposed before her eyes.

Biting her lower lip to keep herself in check and retain her focus on the task at hand, Morgan began to repeat a similar pattern that she had applied to Liara's back, unable to stop herself from showing particular attention to her bondmate's breasts, applying tortuously light caresses on every pass, on occasion brushing her palms against the rapidly hardening nipples, marveling at how they somehow looked even darker from the contact with the massage oil.

And Liara's reaction did not make it any easier on her. There were the tiny moans and gasps whenever her hands passed over Liara's breasts, or came tantalizingly close to the crest of her legs, always remaining on the outside of Liara's hips, much to the asari's growing frustration. Liara had been grasping at the bed sheets with her hands, but by now she was holding on tightly to the head of the ornamental wooden bed frame, as if trying to anchor herself to something. Her body made tiny, involuntary jerks now and then, the skin beginning to glow blue with the flare of the biotics, eyes half-lidded in mounting pleasure.

One particularly deep, throaty moan later, Morgan knew that she was rapidly approaching the edge of losing control, desperately feeling the urgent need for completion. As her hands came to rest on the outside of Liara's hips, instead of moving back up, she pulled even further down to Liara's knees and then with a gentle but insistent tug pushed Liara to spread her legs, the asari obeying with an almost embarrassing eagerness, a disarming gesture of submission and admission of a burning need to be satisfied.

"Well... it seems you really have been missing me, love," Morgan grinned wolfishly, admiring the results of her work, the glistening of Liara's wetness coating her inner thighs.

"What makes you... say that..." Liara gasped, fighting hard to keep her hips steady as Morgan hovered just above the ultimate prize that the asari was desperate to see claimed.

"Oh... call it a hunch," Shepard smiled, before eagerly bending down and rewarding her much suffering bondmate with an exploring lick of her tongue that sent Liara's hips arching upwards and colliding with Shepard's chin.

"...goddess..." Liara gasped, squirming and fighting herself from the desire to initiate a meld, wanting to extend the pleasurable encounter for as long as they were both able. Her hands came loose from the ornamental bed frame, flailing for a moment as she looked for something else to anchor herself to, instinctively seizing Shepard's legs, and then without thinking pulling her lover towards her, suddenly finding Morgan's own sensitized flesh right above her.

"Oh... fuck..." Morgan gasped, feeling the tip of Liara's tongue taking the first exploratory lick, breaking off from her task and looking up the bed to give her lover a look of disbelief. "Seriously? Thulium?"

Liara immediately broke off the contact and started to laugh. "Damn you, Morgan... if you spoil the mood, I swear I will-"

"Wouldn't dream of it, love," Shepard chuckled, immediately returning her attention to her bondmate. Soon enough, despite Liara's best efforts to keep the meld at bay, the crackle of biotics surrounding their tightly intertwined bodies flared bright blue, Liara's eyes turning black as she sent them both spiraling towards completion through a Joining of amazing intensity, first of many on this particular night.

Come the morning, there was only one coherent thought left on the mind of Spectre Morgan Shepard. _Sometimes,_ she thought, _it's worth going away for a few weeks, just to get this sort of welcome back home..._


	38. The Tale Of Two Traps

**Chapter 38 – The Tale Of Two Traps**

_Year 2201 CE  
Discovery, Capital of Horizon _

Spectre Miranda Lawson let out a frustrated sigh, watching as the passenger shuttle she had taken from the spaceport came up to yet another Alliance checkpoint, before being allowed into Discovery proper. Where once had been only the very basic level of local security, now were additional layers on top of each other, the Alliance doing its best to legally paralyze the civilian travel on and off the planet, and Miranda could not help but to feel concerned about the heavy presence of armed Alliance troops everywhere she looked.

As in the previous checkpoint upon leaving the spaceport, several grim-faced marines squeezed into the passenger shuttle, scanning everyone's ID's and now and then pestering the travelers into disclosing their reasons for coming to Horizon during this tense time. Of course, Miranda's Spectre codes gave her a free pass from all this irritating questioning, but it led to much excitement amongst the marines, one or two even making mocking comments as they left. The whole affair left Miranda very annoyed, as she had hoped to keep her presence a secret for as long as possible. _Though, I shouldn't have expected to be successful with that, after what Shepard told me about the added extra security on Eden Prime. _

Eventually, the passenger shuttle was allowed to enter the city and land on its designed pad in a busy transport hub, Miranda looking around for a particular neon advertisement sign as she climbed out of the shuttle. _Ah, there... skycar rental_, she smiled to herself, walking away from the pad, feeling relieved that there were no more Alliance checkpoints in sight. _My mission here might last for a few weeks, and I most certainly do not want to impose on Ori to provide transportation for me, that would be most rude and inconsiderate on my part. _

The irritating distractions aside, it seemed to be a nice day on Horizon, slight breeze tousling her hair and Miranda took a moment to straighten out her appearance before heading into the skycar rental offices, removing her sunglasses and adjusting the black neckerchief, contrasting nicely with her white long-sleeved blouse with strategically undone top buttons and tight black jeans. As far as she was concerned, it was a modest and inconspicuous choice of clothing, but the amount of looks she had already received from the Discovery's male population suggested that she had underestimated herself.

Not long after, she was already speeding along the avenues of Discovery in a slightly used Nezo brand skycar. While driving, Miranda could not help to notice just how much the capital had changed during the several years since her last visit. The city had grown exponentially, whole districts of tall apartment buildings having sprung up from previously unused land, making the city almost unrecognizable to Miranda. However, according to Oriana, during the past year thedevelopment had screeched to a halt, as a result of the Alliance really cracking down and funneling away the resources, but even so the strides the colony world had made in its development were impressive. _And now, the Alliance wants to drain these rich worlds of their resources for... yes, for what? Another war? I still feel as if we're missing the whole picture here. Is there some new threat that the rest of the galaxy is unaware of? But why would the Alliance not turn to the Council, in that case? _

Sighing to herself, Miranda set the skycar down in a half-empty lot in the yard of several tightly compressed apartment housings before jumping out and looking around. This was the 'historical' center of Horizon, where the first settlers had set up their prefabs over thirty years ago, and while Oriana could have moved to live in one of the more comfortable new residential areas, she had preferred to retain her old living space due to sentimental reasons, having shared it for several years with Miranda after the end of the Reaper War. Entering the building and summoning the slow-ass elevator, Miranda briefly pondered about sending Ori a brief message that she had already arrived. With all the traffic delays, her sister was expecting her to arrive late in the evening, but Miranda decided against sending a warning, suddenly feeling like springing a surprise on her unsuspecting sibling. _I know there's a good chance to catch her in the act with one of her asari slatterns and mentally scar myself for life, but it would also provide me with a week's worth ammunition to embarrass Ori with, _Miranda thought, nodding to herself and grinning wickedly as she stood at Oriana's apartment doors, wondering whether one of the old electronic pass codes would still work.

_What do you know... it did work, _Miranda nodded with satisfaction as the doors parted before her... and then her mouth flapped wide open from the sight before her... revealing a dark-haired human female in lacy bra and panties, holding a Cision Pro Mark 17 toothbrush against her mouth, giving her the best 'deer-in-the-headlights' stare that Miranda had seen for many years.

"Who the hell are you?" Miranda demanded sternly, watching the semi-naked woman back away from her in fear, pushing against the edge of the living room sofa and collapsing clumsily. _Well, at least I can shoot down Kasumi's theory about why Ori is swapping all those asari partners like she's swapping socks. Not that this... hussy... looks much better. Though... haven't I seen her somewhere? _

"Ori!" she heard the other woman cry out her sister's name, flailing around behind the sofa and trying to get up. "Ori, some crazy woman is breaking into our apartment!"

"**Our** apartment?" Miranda hissed. "You've got a lot of nerve, wench!" Suddenly, something clicked in her head, making her remember where she had seen the woman. "Wait... aren't you Shepard's old comm specialist? I'm sure I've seen you on the Normandy many years ago..."

Samantha Traynor did not even have the chance to respond when Oriana Lawson appeared on the living room doorstep, much to Miranda's relief properly and decently dressed in a simple sweater and pants. "Miri!" she exclaimed in joy, rushing forth to greet her sister, crushing Miranda in a tight hug. "Oh, that was very naughty of you, not informing me of your arrival, Miri," she chided, still holding her sister close. "I'm delighted to see you at last, but you've given Sam the scare of her life!"

"Should I care?" Miranda huffed when Oriana finally released her. "I was hoping we could spend some time alone, just you and I."

"Have you gone to some special charm school on Benning or what?" Oriana glared at her.

"Oh... right, your sister," Traynor mumbled, getting up to her feet, still red-faced and embarrassed. "I did not recognize her with those sunglasses," she added, but Miranda did not pay any attention whatsoever to her.

"You're the one to chide me about keeping you out of the loop, Ori," Miranda huffed, giving her sister another critical stare. "You didn't even see fit to tell me you were involved with this... Specialist Samantha Traynor, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes, but I'm no longer-" Traynor tried to get a word in, this time getting cut off by her own lover.

"I did write that I've been in a more committed relationship for a while, now," Oriana argued, crossing her arms on her chest. "You must have assumed it was with another asari. Sam is also working at Erikson's office, and we've been together for a couple of years now!"

"A workplace romance, is it?" Miranda arched an elegant eyebrow. "Are you sure this is wise, Ori?"

"Uh, can I just add that-" Samantha tried again, unsuccessfully.

"Gods, must you still be so overbearing about all my relationships?" Oriana sighed deeply. "And you wonder why I never want to share anything about my private life with you! Even when... when I really would love... to share some of my happiness with you..."

"Umm, perhaps I should just leave you two alone..." Traynor said awkwardly, watching how hurt and sadness reflected in Miranda's face at her sister's accusing words.

"No, stay right there," Miranda ordered harshly, Samantha immediately freezing on the spot. "Okay, we got off to the wrong start here, and I admit, it's all my fault. Can we just scrap this and start all over from the scratch?"

"What exactly are you proposing?" Oriana looked at her sister with narrowed eyes.

"You have a day off from work at the governor's office. I don't necessarily need to get to my tasks immediately either," Miranda said with a smile on her lips. "The weather outside is just lovely. I passed by the downtown on my way here and noticed a few lovely outdoors restaurants. Why don't I treat you two to a nice dinner? I'm buying."

"That's more like it," Oriana nodded approvingly, turning to look at her lover. "Sam, you're up for giving Miri another chance?"

"Of course!" Traynor happily agreed. "And I know just the place, if you'll allow me to make a recommendation." Miranda and Oriana exchanged looks, both nodding. "Great! Let's be off!"

"Uh... Sam?" Traynor's eyes widened when Oriana put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Shouldn't you get dressed first?" she asked, barely holding back a chuckle. "Also... you may want to put that toothbrush away..."

"Oh..." Samantha Traynor caught herself, blushing wildly. "Oh... yes, perhaps I should do that..."

* * *

_Virmire Orbital Station, Sentry Omega_

Spectre Kasumi Goto stepped off the small private transport, looking around the mostly empty halls of the space station, instinctively tightening the hood of her infiltration suit. The Virmire orbital station was a recent installation, following the Council's push to colonize the Sentry Omega system. After the war, it did not take long for the Council to decide that Virmire was simply too much of a prize to leave in the hands of the pirates crowding the Skyllian Verge, and an effort was made to push the lawless elements out of the system. The orbital station had been constructed to process all those would-be colonists of different species now slowly flocking towards Virmire, and it also served as a refueling depot for the ships traveling to the neighboring systems.

Which was where Spectre Kasumi Goto was heading to, following a tip that had once again lead her on the chase for the Shadow Broker. _Shame that they didn't decide to hold that meeting down on Virmire... silly Council, having too many eyes there now, scaring off paranoid Broker agents, _Kasumi thought to herself a little petulantly. _And from what I have heard, Virmire certainly is a lot more pleasant than the place I'm heading to... figures. And let's not forget the several days worth of flight both ways... ugh. _

The piece of intel that had sent her on this merry chase had come from a fellow Spectre, grim, professional and unfriendly, just like most of her turian colleagues. It was an audio transmission between two known Shadow Broker associates, mentioning a planned face-to-face meeting in an old, abandoned listening post deep in one of the most remote systems of the Sentry Omega. Once a part in a chain of similar listening posts placed there to warn against any potential threats, rachni or otherwise, it had been laying abandoned for centuries, until the pirates and other lawless elements pushed off Virmire and the relay system had began to make use of it for their own nefarious dealings.

There was very little about this piece of intel that Kasumi's ever-suspicious nature gave her bad vibes. The place of the meeting seemed legit. While the average Joe on the Citadel still might have thought that the center of the criminal underworld in the galaxy was still Omega, Aria had overhauled the place rather drastically and if someone were particularly concerned with secrecy, they would have never chosen Omega. But Listening Post BZ-43 was one of the few places that in very specific circles held a certain reputation as being perfectly suited for this kind of secret, illicit negotiation.

The way that the turian Spectre had obtained the intel also seemed perfectly believable. The man was very good at his job, and after eliminating his targets during his own Spectre mission, his first task had been to upload a very creative hacking program to the enemy agent's omni-tools to stop them from self-deleting their data. The hack was not always successful, but when it was, the intel that it preserved could be extremely precious, such as this small fragment of audio-conversation. And most importantly, the intel hadn't gone through Councilor Hock at all, Kasumi had checked this several times to make sure that the woman hadn't somehow been able to slip a bait to her... but the turian had passed the intel directly to Kasumi, without involving anyone else. There was no way to link Hock with this, and this knowledge served to reassure Kasumi's slightly frayed nerves.

_I guess I should just relax and calm down, _Kasumi told herself, pacing through the empty halls of the orbital station, wondering whether it was normal that so few people were up and about. _I suppose it makes sense. The legal traffic to Sentry Omega is still very light, and they probably don't get more than a few ships through here every day. There's nothing to worry about. It's just the pace of the life out here in the Verge, Kasumi. You're just too used to the frantic rushing on the Citadel. _

_Though, maybe I should have followed Francis to grab a bite at the cafeteria while the techs do the maintenance and refueling... _Kasumi thought idly. Francis Jeffers was the pilot of the little transport vessel, a privateer making his life by taking interested parties to dangerous locales that rarely anyone wanted to visit, and now and then agreeing to transport some shipments of less than legal cargo, gaining the man some renown in the smuggling circles. He had actually been something of a friend to Bau, and had often helped her salarian boyfriend during his missions, and her was more than happy to assist Kasumi as well, for a just compensation, of course. Most importantly, he had the docking codes to access Listening Post BZ-43, which was of the most interest to Kasumi.

The cafeteria turned to also be empty save for two half-asleep maintenance workers and a bubbly blonde human girl behind the counter, explaining to Kasumi that the 'cute' pilot had already left to return to his ship. _Hmm, that's a bit odd, _Kasumi thought, heading back towards the transport through the twisting access corridors of the space station. _But __he probably would have messaged me if we were ready to lift off, though. I mean, with everyone else getting off here, I'll be his only passenger anyway, it's not like I have to worry about him taking off without me._

_Geez, it's so quiet here that I can hear the echoes of my own footsteps... and that's never good, considering how light my step is, _she winced inwardly, taking the final turn to enter the corridor approaching their docking bay. _C'mon, brain, don't start messing with me again, this is no trap, we went through this a few times already, remember? Still... yeah, I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. There's one thing that I forgot to take into account. Anyone travelling to BZ-43 would be almost 100% certain to pass through the orbital station to refuel. _

_If this is a trap... they would not wait for me to reach the listening post before snapping it shut... they would actually jump me here... _Kasumi instinctively sped up her steps towards the docking bay, but as soon as she came in view of the ship, she realized that her fears had been completely justified. The cargo doors of the transport were wide open, an asari commando standing in the doors, glowing with biotics and a pistol in her hand, the crumpled shape of the pilot lying in a pool of blood at her feet. As Kasumi reached for her own modded Locust SMG, she spotted another pair of agents, a human and a salarian stepping out from the shadows of scattered crates and approaching them from the farther end of the docking bay.

_Asari commando... this might be tricky, but with just three of them, I should be able to- _Kasumi's train of thoughts was interrupted as another salarian agent de-cloaked directly behind her. "How rude of you to make us wait, miss Goto," the salarian mocked her in his chirpy voice. "Now, if you would kindly lay down your weapon and come with us-"

"I'm going to need a better motivation to do that, I'm afraid," Kasumi replied, trying to evaluate her options, noticing that the asari was also now approaching, the glow of biotics around her intensifying. "You won't find me an easy-" she was about to activate her own cloaking, but then something happened, the salarian in front of her raising her omni-tool and suddenly Kasumi realized that her tactical cloaking had backfired.

"And you will find us much better prepared this time, miss Goto," the salarian simply replied, manipulating something on his omni-tool again, likely uploading some hack to Kasumi's omni, suddenly jolting her with sharp pain, forcing her omni-tool to overload. The salarian kept adjusting his omni, making Kasumi cry out in pain as she felt her body being wracked by blazing heat and currents of electricity at once, falling on her knees as her leg muscles gave up and refused to support her frame.

The pain was so intense that Kasumi was no longer even able to scream, her body making convulsive jerks, brain threatening to shut off completely and grant her the escape into unconsciousness, but just before being pushed over the brink, Kasumi made one final attempt to remove her omni-tool. It was like touching a piece of molten lava, and Kasumi felt the repugnant smell of her own burning flesh as she finally managed to push the omni off from her wrist, the pain instantly receding... but also leaving her in a close to incapacitated state, every muscle in her body twitching and shaking with terrible agony, before slackening up and making her collapse face first in an undignified heap.

"Put the restraints on her," she heard the salarian's orders, the asari commando mercilessly wringing her limp hands behind her back and slapping on a pair of cuffs, then repeating the same process with her ankles. "Scan for any hidden tech," came the next command, directed at the other salarian.

"Uh, that suit of hers is full of tech," Kasumi barely heard the reply a minute or so later. "It's going to have to come off."

"Alright, now we're talking," the human agent seemed excited by the prospect.

"Ugh, you disgust me," the salarian leader immediately admonished his human subordinate. "If you dare to even touch her, I swear, you'll end up spaced, are we clear?" the human nodded grudgingly, much to Kasumi's relief. "Now, do the job you were actually brought here for. Injection."

Moments later, Kasumi screamed again, a thin, long needle cutting into her neck from behind, freezing cold spreading through her tortured body. In a matter of seconds, she had lost all consciousness, the asari commando picking up the limp, helpless body and carrying it towards the transport.

* * *

_Citadel, Council Chambers _

"Admiral McIllis... please, do come in," Councilor Katherine Hock summoned something resembling a smile as she welcomed in the de-facto speaker of the Alliance Command. In truth, she was less than pleased about the interruption, having to put away the expensive bottle of champagne she had just opened in the wake of receiving news of Kasumi Goto's capture.

"A pleasure, as always, Madame Councilor," McIllis replied in his businesslike, monotonous voice, taking a seat opposite to her. "Judging by all reports, you have truly settled into your new role. But I simply wanted to make sure for myself that these reports were accurate."

For a moment Katherine wanted to ask what sort of reports those would be, and who exactly amongst her staff were reporting to the Alliance Command without her knowledge, but somehow, something made her hesitate, not wanting to create tensions with her most important ally and supporter. _Even if he's probably going to try and lean on me to advance some Alliance agenda... _

"Yes, I'm slowly getting up to the speed here, Admiral," she replied politely. "I won't bore a military man with mundane details of the daily routine in this maze of intrigue that is the Galactic Council. In short, take the bureaucracy and corruption of the New Arc and multiply it by five, and you'll get the Citadel Tower. But... I'm slowly learning the ropes on how to survive and advance the interests of humanity in this pit of alien snakes."

"That is good to hear, miss Hock, and it fills me with confidence," McIllis nodded. "Now, I wanted to speak of some specifics regarding the interests of Systems Alliance and the humanity on the whole."

_Ah, damnation, here we go,_ Katherine Hock cursed inwardly. "Of course, Admiral. It is my favorite topic of discussion, obviously," she said, then wincing a little at the stare that McIllis gave her. _Oops, I might have laid it on too thick there, I need to be more careful,_ she told herself.

"You have seen the amount of resources supplied by the colony worlds so far this year, and how they relate to the quotas that have been set by the Alliance Parliament." It was not even a question, it was a simple, harsh statement from the admiral. "They fall off the mark by 33%, Councilor."

"Well... they still have four months until the end of the year to comply with these new quotas, yes?" Katherine asked, uncomfortably shifting her weight in the chair.

"Technically correct. But you have also seen how these resource shipments compare against the quotas of last year. By that I mean that they match identically."

"I saw the comparison, but-"

"There is an unspoken agreement between the colonial leaders to follow the quotas from last year instead of complying with the new quotas that have been set before them," McIllis once again cut her off as if to deliberately undermine her authority. "This is an open act of defiance which we cannot simply ignore."

"What do you propose that we do, Admiral?" Katherine asked, feeling an unpleasant cold shiver seizing her in anticipation of the answer. _Damn it, this old warmonger will want to start an armed conflict over the resources, just as I'm trying to ingratiate myself to the alien councilors... this is... unacceptable, I must deny this action... somehow. _

"What we need is a show of force, an example of what will happen to those who would ignore our requests," McIllis said simply. "We will choose one colony world, important enough to get noticed, and we will move in and remove its leadership, people who refuse to follow direct orders coming from the Parliament and the Alliance Command. The local militia will be unable to offer meaningful resistance, and we can be certain to secure our targets with minimal casualties."

"I... understand that this issue is very important to you, Admiral," Hock began, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "But there is a reason why they are called _yearly _quotas. Right now, the Alliance does not have a legitimate mandate for such action, and thus I cannot endorse your plan. I'm sorry, but... you must give the colonies time until the end of the year."

"A pity that you do not wish to see things for what they are, Councilor," McIllis shook his head, looking slightly displeased. "Perhaps you will reconsider."

"I will not," Hock replied sternly, feeling as if this was her chance to reassert some of her authority. "Besides, you have never even dignified me with a satisfying answer why the Systems Alliance insists on such radical increase of the quotas. The reasoning provided by your reports was superficial and not entirely to my satisfaction."

"Perhaps you are simply trying too hard to see something that is not there, Councilor," McIllis smiled thinly. "But I do not intend to argue your decision, miss Hock. Unless you reconsider, we will wait until the end of the year for the colonies to come up with the supplies."

"Thank you for being understanding, Admiral, but I don't think there is much that could make me reconsider," Katherine allowed a small smile to appear on her lips.

"Yes, I always knew you were a woman of strong convictions," McIllis nodded as he rose from the chair, taking a thick suitcase with him, then placing it upon the desk. "Before I leave, however, allow me to pass you this gift from me and my fellow admirals of the Alliance Command. We hope that you will find a prominent place for it in your office."

"But of course, Admiral McIllis," Katherine agreed amiably. _Well, I can give the old bastard that much, can't I? _"What is it?" she asked curiously.

Admiral McIllis opened the suitcase, revealing a strange artifact, a large, round orb which shimmered in distinctly greenish blue colors, a myriad of shifting patterns floating along its surface, always twisting and changing. "A friend of mine found an entire trove of these orbs in an archeological dig out in the Traverse," the admiral explained. "We think they are of Prothean origin, or perhaps from some even more ancient civilization. All of my fellow admirals have one of these in our offices... there is something compelling about these trinkets, miss Hock. Just staring at it for a while can truly stimulate your thoughts. Give it a try, Madame Councilor."

"What? Oh... oh, of course... thank you for the... thoughtful gift," Katherine said, completely missing the knowing smile on the admiral's lips as he left the office, the councilor already so transfixed that she could not take her eyes off the orb. _Compelling... yes... that's a good word... and also beautiful... mysterious... I think I will just... leave it here on my desk... to always be next to me... always... _

* * *

_Armali, Thessia _

"Mom!" Lita Ashley Shepard-T'Soni whined, giving her mother an accusing stare. "C'mon... I know I'm not as smart as the other kids, but really... I can see you threw that game on purpose!"

Liara let out a heavy sigh, hanging her head, as she blushed deep purple. Together with Shepard, the three of them were sitting on the floor in Lita's room, engaged in a game of Kepesh-Yakshi. "I... apologize, I won't do that again, I promise," she said quietly, Morgan immediately reaching out to squeeze her bondmate's hand, understanding the reasons for Liara's actions only too well.

"One more?" Lita asked excitedly, Liara looking as if she wanted to shake her head considering the lateness of the hour, but then hesitating. "Aww, you owe me another game now!"

"I think we can do one more, love," Morgan smiled at Liara, her bondmate then agreeing with a smile on her lips. Shepard always teamed up with Lita during their board games, simply because neither of them could stand up to Liara's intellect on their own. Together, the two of them stood a slightly better chance, though it was still a struggle, and Liara, being the compassionate sort, always tried to make things easier on them, but there hadn't been a single occasion when Lita hadn't sensed it and become upset about the noble deception.

"Thanks, dad," Lita briefly hugged Morgan, thanking her for the support in convincing Liara. "And mom... you know, it's not really about winning for me... not at these games, anyway. I just... love doing stuff together with you, guys."

"We love it as well, sweetie," Morgan said softly, hugging her daughter in return, looking across the board at Liara, seeing the tears welling up in her bondmate's eyes, as always as when she was overcome with emotion.

"Of course... if you really loved me..." Lita said, trying to sound innocent, but not quite succeeding. "You'd buy me one of those nice extranet games... then we could play that together. It would be awesome! Everyone at school is playing them!"

Morgan opened her mouth to reply, but Liara quickly cut in, perhaps because she knew that Shepard was often tempted by the idea. "We've been over this, honey," she gently explained to their daughter. "Right now you have such a heavy load at school that we cannot introduce you to such a powerful distraction. I'd love to spoil you, but it's for your own good."

"Aww... I can never have the nice things..." Lita muttered, but her pout quickly cleared as they resumed another game of Kepesh-Yakshi. This time Liara, true to her word, pulled no punches, and thirty moves later Morgan and Lita were left staring at their severely depleted and frigate-less fleet, Liara simply waltzing in and blowing their homeworld to pieces.

"Oh well, mommy slaughtered us again," Morgan chuckled.

"Still, it was fun," Lita cheered, giving Morgan a mischievous stare. "So dad, did I get the dumb from you?"

"You are not dumb, sweetie, don't say that, and never let anyone else say that about you either," Liara exclaimed, looking upset.

"Your mommy is right," Morgan nodded. "And I think that you got a lot of excellent qualities from me, actually... being strong as a varren is not a drawback," she added, patting her daughters shoulders, slightly broader than those of her peers, Lita being considerably more athletic and built more for pure strength than most asari. "You're always making me so very proud, kiddo."

"Rarrr! Varren charge!" Lita growled playfully and leapt at her father, the two of them ending rolling around the soft carpet, laughing, as Liara looked on at them with a loving stare.

"Don't make her too excited now, Shepard, it's almost Lita's bedtime," Liara warned softly, as Morgan and Lita continued their impersonation of varren fighting.

"Yeah, we're almost d-" Morgan was in the middle of the sentence when a knock on the doors cut her short.

"I hate to interrupt, but," Shiala's head popped in through the gap in the doors, the commando leader looking apologetic. "Shepard, could we have a moment?"

"Of course, Shiala. Morgan, feel free to leave, I will put Lita to bed on my own," Liara spoke up swiftly.

"Oh, very well," Shepard agreed, hugging Lita one more time and pressing a kiss against her brow. "Now, you be a good kid and listen to your mommy, yes?"

"Course, dad," Lita nodded obediently as Morgan rose to leave, Liara immediately moving in to begin with her fussing over their child.

"What's up, Shiala?" Morgan asked, having closed the doors to Lita's room behind her.

"I'm not sure, Shepard," Shiala shrugged, looking a little confused. "I think you need to come and see for yourself."

"Can't you just tell me what the heck is going on?" Morgan grumbled, following Shiala downstairs and towards the main entrance.

"Let's just say that we have an unexpected guest insisting that she needs to speak with you," Shiala replied. "I was sorely tempted to throw her out from the premises, but... I don't know, one word from you, and I will do just that. And I don't promise to be gentle."

"Huh... who could-" Morgan was about to ask, but then they were at the front doors already, Shiala throwing them wide open, revealing someone kneeling on the steps at the entrance, Shepard immediately recognizing the asari who had been a source of much frustration during their stay on Thessia. "Kavani! I thought I told you once already not to show your face-"

"Shepard, please!" Cyntria Kavani cried out, unexpectedly collapsing at Shepard's feet, Morgan for a moment thinking that Cyntria was about to kiss her feet. "Please... I beg you... just hear me out..."

"Why should I hear you out after the shit you've pulled off against me and my family?" Morgan growled, still angry about their last encounter, but beginning to feel slightly sympathetic and also curious, knowing that it ought to have been something very serious to push Cyntria into seeking her help.

"Please... Shepard... I have nowhere else to turn," Cyntria looked up for a moment, tears staining her cheeks, eyes reddened from crying. "It's... it's about my sister... Qara's mother... I am begging you to help my family... please..."


	39. Parallel Investigations

**Chapter 39 – Parallel Investigations**

_Year 2201 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

"Come on in, Shepard," Liara said softly, opening the doors to a guest bedroom on the ground floor of the western wing of the estate. "The sedatives are starting to kick in, she should be able to speak to us coherently," she added as Morgan entered, a concerned looking Shiala about to follow, but Liara gently stepped in the commando's way and shook her head, the green skinned asari respectfully nodding and remaining outside in the corridor.

"I... I thank you for agreeing to... hear me out," their 'guest' said in a broken voice, Dr. Cyntria Kavani lying on the sofa, still breathing heavily.

"You should thank Liara for that," Morgan ground out, still feeling conflicted about allowing this... viper amongst asari inside their home. "I was tempted to simply instruct Shiala to kick you off the premises."

"But you did not," Cyntria spoke quietly. "For that alone I thank you."

"Cyntria, do you think you could now tell us what exactly happened to force you to seek out our help?" Liara asked kindly.

"I... think so..." the other asari spoke, slowly propelling herself off the bed, sitting on the edge as she gingerly put a hand to her brow, gently rubbing it in an attempt to refocus her thoughts. She stood up from the bed and instead took a seat at the nearby desk, activating her omni-tool as she did so, Shepard and Liara approaching to stand behind Cyntria and look at the holoscreen created by the omni. "Three days ago I was idly watching a GBC News report regarding some event on the Citadel... something to do with the new skyball season kicking off, I think. What attracted my attention, however, was this..." Cyntria froze the vid and enlarged a part of it, focusing on a stream of passersby walking along the Presidium in the background of the droning reporter interviewing some washed up former skyball pro.

"All I see is a crowd of people of various species," Morgan shrugged, uncertain of what she was supposed to look at.

In response, Cyntria enlarged the vid a few more times, revealing a regal looking asari, passing through the crowd with determined steps. "That's Edoria, my long lost sister. I'm completely certain of it," Cyntria said in a determined voice.

"Are you sure?" Morgan asked, unable to hide her disbelief. "I mean... the image isn't particularly clear, and the distance is considerable..."

"The facial markings are very clear and pronounced, though," Liara argued, also having taken a closer look.

"I understand your skepticism, Shepard," Cyntria continued. "I have done as much as I could to verify my claims. I acquired the best facial recognition software available for the civilian sector, though I have no doubt that you as a Spectre would have access to more impressive technical possibilities. I also contacted the Galactic Broadcasting Network and secured the entire unedited recording from them. I ran both the recording and earlier vids featuring Edoria and compared them by using the software. Shepard, I got a 100% match. The woman on the vid is my sister!"

"Well... it looks like you have done your homework, indeed. As I would expect from a scientist," Shepard conceded. "I would need to verify everything for myself if I agree to look into this."

"Of course, I have prepared all the relevant information just in case," Dr. Kavani said, retrieving a small OSD and placing it on the table. "Everything I have is on this disc. The news reel, the original recording, several vids featuring Edoria, her personal files, biometric data... everything that could help you find her."

"Have you considered that your sister, for one reason or another, simply does not wish to be found?" Morgan asked.

"That's the same line that the official investigators shot me down with when I brought the case before them," Cyntria shook her head determinedly. "I cannot accept it, Shepard. She went on the expedition when Qara was not even three years old, it was almost impossible to tear her away from the child, but someone in very influential circles insisted upon her inclusion in the mission. She loved her baby more than anything else in the galaxy, Shepard... that she would not return to Thessia to be with Qara if she was able... it is simply impossible. I will not accept it."

"It does seem very odd, Morgan," Liara agreed quietly. "Perhaps-"

"Why do you think that I'm the only one who can help you, Kavani?" Shepard asked harshly again, noticing that Liara gave her a sharp glare for getting rudely interrupted. "Surely there are private investigators out there that could also help you?"

"That is true... and I will seek out one of them, if you turn away my plea for help," Cyntria nodded tiredly. "But... I owe it to Qara to do the best I can to help find her mother... and Shepard, the truth is that you as a Spectre... you are my best chance for success. Please..." she added quietly, her head hanging low in acceptance of whatever decision Shepard would make.

Morgan stood silent for a moment, before exchanging looks with Liara, her bondmate giving a nigh-imperceptible nod of approval. _Yeah, I guess Liara is right. If I turn her away, she'll come to resent me even more, and I don't want to make enemies when I don't have to. And it's not even about Cyntria here. This is about reuniting an innocent child with her mother. If it makes Cyntria more grateful towards us... well, that's even better. _

"Very well, Dr. Kavani," she eventually said. "I promise to look into the matter. I will leave for the Citadel in two days."

"Oh... oh, thank you, thank you ever so much," Cyntria again looked ready to fall at Shepard's feet in gratitude, Morgan having to seize the scientist by her arm and force her to remain upright.

"Don't thank me just yet, I haven't actually done anything at all so far," Morgan said, thin smile on her lips.

"Also, it is getting very late," Liara remarked, having watched their exchange, looking approving of Morgan's decision to help Cyntria. "Dr. Kavani, do you have a place to stay for the night?"

"No… no, but I will find-" Cyntria began to speak, Shepard quickly cutting her off.

"Shiala! Shiala, come on in!" she called out, expecting the commando leader to still be standing outside in the hallway. As expected, the green skinned asari entered the room immediately. "Shiala, make a hotel reservation for Dr. Kavani and take her there, please. With those sedatives, she is in no condition to drive right now. Take her skycar and then catch a taxi back. "

"That's... too kind of you, Shepard, I couldn't-..." Cyntria again tried to get a word in, but Morgan would not allow her to finish.

"I suggest you make use of my goodwill while it's still on the table, Dr. Kavani," she said sternly, passing the still feeble and shaky asari on to Shiala, the commando wrapping a supportive arm around the sedated scientist's waist, leading her out of the room. Once they were gone, Morgan immediately turned towards Liara. "So... do you think there's something behind this?" she asked.

"I do," Liara nodded confidently. "There is something... unpleasant, even ominous about the entire story. What could keep a young mother separated from her child... no, I sense something dark at play here. Morgan... please, be careful, and do not dismiss anything lightly. Promise me?"

"Of course, love," Morgan smiled, stepping closer and embracing her bondmate. "I'm... not looking forward to being parted from you yet again, but... I will not treat this lightly. That much I promise."

* * *

_Citadel, Council Chambers _

"Unless anyone has further issues to bring before the Council, I declare this session as closed," Councilor Tevos, the _de facto_ speaker of the Galactic Council, spoke to the gathering of her fellow representatives.

"I have nothing," Sparatus shrugged. "Unless the humanity's councilor wishes to elaborate a little more about the Systems Alliance operations in the Attican Traverse."

"It is nothing that the Galactic Council needs to concern itself with," Katherine Hock replied coolly. "The internal matters of Systems Alliance are not within the scope of discussion before the Council."

"I understand that the heaviest concentration of Alliance forces are in the colonies of Terra Nova, Horizon and Eden Prime," Sparatus went on, undeterred. "While we remain respectful of... internal matters of the Systems Alliance, I feel it is my duty as a representative of my people to remind you that there are no fewer than ten thousand turians currently living and working on these particular colonies. The Turian Hierarchy will not ignore threats to their safety."

"Nor will the Salarian Union regarding the five thousand of our citizens working in Traverse," the salarian councilor, Oluara, added.

"The Asari Republics are similarly concerned about the fate of ten thousand asari currently stationed on the three aforementioned colonies," Tevos spoke, giving her human counterpart an inquiring stare.

"Your concerns are well noted," Katherine Hock simply shrugged. "But they are also misplaced. There are no threats to the safety of your citizens during their stay on the Alliance colonies."

"In any case... should the situation change, I would prefer an early warning so that we can pull our people out," Sparatus said in a meaningful tone of voice. "I am sure that my fellow councilors will agree with this. The alternative is something that I'm sure the Alliance does not want to consider... our response will be swift."

"And as I told you once already, your concerns are well understood," Councilor Hock snapped, feeling a little irritated.

_'You will not take these warnings seriously. These... turians are bluffing, they are still weak, distracted with their own internal struggles... the humans are the apex race of this cycle... with our support, you can ignore the threats of these... primitives...' _

The voice inside her head was growing stronger with every passing day, from the very first moment when she had felt it intruding into her thoughts. It gave her... strength, reassurance... confidence, that she needed in order to stand up to these aliens, challenging the rightful course of the Systems Alliance, humanity and their new friends and supporters. At first, the strange presence had filled her with dread, but there was something so compelling about the whispers in her head and what they spoke to her, promising power and rewards beyond anything she could have hoped for, but what she had always dreamed of attaining for herself and for the humanity. Now, despite it making her feel uncomfortably cold whenever the alien presence entered her thoughts, she always welcomed it, reveling in the strength and possessive confidence that it granted her.

"Now, if you are done trying to rudely intrude into the internal matters of the humanity and the Systems Alliance, I propose that we follow the suggestion of Councilor Tevos and consider this meeting adjourned," Katherine Hock finished harshly, her voice raised a notch.

Sparatus gave her another dirty glare before backing down and leaving, muttering angrily. Oluara and Shala'Raan departed quickly as well, followed by Ngagong Urdnot, having been awakened from his slumber by the poking of the geth representative, Legion. Only the asari councilor, Tevos, remained behind, accompanying Hock's departure with a concerned stare, making Katherine feel slightly uncomfortable from the asari's scrutinizing stare.

_'Soon you will no longer need to tolerate this humiliation from these lesser races. We will shortly put our plans into action. But to do so, we need the resources of the colony worlds. Your order is required. It will be given.' _

_'Of... of course... what is it... that you wish me to do...'_

_'This world intrigues us the most.' _The image of a pale grey and blue planet with verdant forests and vast seas appeared in Katherine's Hock mind. _'It's leaders will be eliminated or reeducated, and it's resources will help strengthen our war machine. We believe that you call this world 'Horizon'. We wish to begin our operation at once.' _

_'It will be done... the invasion of Horizon... begins now.'_

* * *

_Citadel, Spectre Offices _

The spacious and comfortable Citadel facilities assigned to the Council Spectres usually stood empty, at least every time that Morgan Shepard had sought to make use of them. The roughly one hundred fifty agents in the employ of the Council tended to keep their stops at the headquarters short, receive mission updates, deliver reports, make use of the secure terminals or try out new weapon mods at the conveniently located small weapons range. Already expecting to have the offices all to herself, Morgan could not hide her surprise when she saw someone emerging from the weapons range, a young asari Spectre, staring fondly at the modded pistol in her hand, before looking up, noticing Shepard and then appearing just as surprised as Morgan for suddenly having company.

"Oh... hey, Shepard," Spectre Yannika Vasir said, her voice as usually not betraying many emotions. "I thought you were on Thessia?"

"Hey, Yannika," Morgan smiled. "Yeah, I was supposed to be back home, but something came up... a private investigation, so to speak." She hesitated for a moment. "Say... you're currently on a mission, or is this just something you love doing during downtime?"

"Downtime," Yannika returned the smile. Despite Shepard having been the one to contribute to her elder sister's demise sixteen years ago, the relationship between her and Morgan had gone from strained to nearly warm. "I was thinking of hitting some clubs later in the evening and really letting loose. I haven't done something like that in years."

"Oh..." Shepard sighed, immediately being faced with the asari's inquiring stare. "So... I suspect I'll have to go over a stupendous amount of surveillance vids. I was wondering if you'd like to help me, but if you already have other plans I won't delay you..."

"Nonsense, Shepard, the evening is still many hours away," Yannika waved dismissively. "I'll help, just tell me what are we looking for."

"Alright... you asked for it," Shepard said, throwing a stack of datapads on the nearby table, then pointing at the empty computer consoles equipped with all the latest software to aid the Spectres in whatever research they required. "Grab a seat, Yannika... this might take a while for me to explain..."

* * *

Three hours later, the two Spectres were still going through the staggering amount of surveillance footage. "Thanks, Shepard," Yannika said, accepting a mug of warm coffee that Morgan had just brought from the nearby dispenser right outside in the hallway. "You know, I don't think this is going to take all that long, actually. We have the location, ID and time. As soon as we find the beginning of the thread, it's going to be an easy job unraveling it."

"Yeah, sounds easy enough... in theory," Shepard added, taking a sip of the coffee. Here, at the Citadel Embassies, it actually did not taste horrid, perhaps because the dispensers were not filled with the kind of sludge that was served by the vending machines in the wards.

"Not just in theory, Shepard," the asari chuckled, then pumping her fist excitedly and pointing at the screen in front of her. "There we go! I've got her! See, it's the same shot as on the recording... here's the reporter, doing the interview... and there's our target, walking by, looking casual."

"Good eyes," Morgan complimented her colleague, settling back into her own seat. "Can you upload that fragment to my console as well? Thanks," she added, as the relevant vid appeared before her, Morgan quickly looking through it, having to agree with Yannika's conclusion that the woman on the screens appeared to be Edoria Kavani. The next step was to summon the layout of that particular part of the Citadel, identify the next security camera in the projected path of Cyntria's sister and then try to spot her once more.

"Hmm, Shepard, it really looks like she's heading for one of the docking bays straight ahead," Yannika remarked as they had already traced Edoria's path through several sectors, the asari walking in a swift and reassured step. "I think I'll skip the next few cams on the access corridors and go straight for the docking bays, might save us some time."

"Sure, try that," Morgan nodded. "If we can get the name of the ship she left on that would be-" at that moment, she was interrupted by a message coming in to her omni. Her eyes widened a little as she saw the sender's name. _Miranda? She hardly ever messages me, unless it's an emergency. _She quickly opened the message, reading its contents, Miranda asking to meet her in person as soon as possible. _Don't like the sound of that, _Morgan thought to herself as she sent a reply to Miranda, informing her friend that she was currently at the Spectre offices on the Citadel. Within seconds she received another message, Miranda sounding surprised, having expected her to be on Thessia, then informing Shepard that she would arrive to meet her in fifteen minutes.

"We'll have some company, shortly," Morgan informed the asari, having finished fiddling around with her omni-tool. "Miranda... Spectre Lawson just informed me of needing to urgently speak with me. Sounded like an emergency."

"Just let me know if you require privacy, Shepard," Yannika shrugged, looking undeterred, resuming her browsing through the security feeds.

"Appreciate it," Morgan nodded, getting back to her own work, tracing the steps of Dr. Edoria Kavani through the access corridors leading away from the Presidium proper. "You know, I should probably also retrace her steps later to see where she was coming from... that might give even more clues."

"Yes, good idea, Shepard," Yannika agreed, remembering the mug of coffee in front of her and taking another sip before it cooled down to become too repugnant to drink. "Aha! The first docking bay was a bust... but here we go, there's our target, entering the bay... oh, and look at that, she's stopping to talk to someone. Shepard, this could be important, come and take a look."

Morgan quickly dashed over to the console in front of Yannika, immediately recognizing the violet dress of Dr. Kavani, the asari conversing with a human female, dressed in casual clothing, simple baggy pants and a hoodie. "Pause and enlarge, please," Shepard said swiftly, the asari Spectre doing as she was told. "What the... fuck?" Morgan gasped as Yannika pulled the image close enough for her to be able to see the human's face. If Morgan had taken her mug of coffee with her, it would have now been on the floor, Shepard staggering from shock at seeing a familiar face that she hadn't seen for over fifteen years.

"What's the matter, Shepard?" Yannika Vasir asked, looking at Morgan with rare concern. "You know her?"

"Yeah... yeah... I think I do... I mean, we'll need to make sure for certain it's the person I'm thinking of, but..." Morgan shook her head, trying to gather her bearings. _What the fuck is going on here? How could it possibly be her? _"I think that is Alliance Captain Lee Riley... a fellow N7 graduate. I have not heard anything from her since... well, the war. I... I just can't imagine what she could be doing together with this Dr. Edoria?"

"Let's pull as much as we can from the Alliance records, Shepard," Yannika suggested. "Maybe she's involved in some kind of joint secret op? It could explain why Dr. Kavani cannot return to Thessia."

"Secret op that lasts fifteen years?" Shepard shook her head in disbelief. "Yeah, but I agree with you, let's see what we can get from the Alliance records," she added, returning to her own console and starting to frantically work to access the relevant data.

"Err... this is... odd?" Yannika said a while later, sounding more than a little surprised. "Are you seeing it, Shepard?"

"Yeah..." Morgan blinked, looking at the records displayed before her. Captain Lee Riley was marked as missing, presumed killed in action in Year 2186, during a mission against the Reapers deep in the Attican Traverse. "We'll make sure about the ID... but it was her, I'm absolutely positive. Something here doesn't add up."

"Alliance black op, Shepard? She's officially dead, but..." Yannika suggested.

"Hmm… well, could be, but... I know Riley, she's just... not that kind of a person who'd get involved in something shady," Morgan shrugged. "Can't rule anything out, though. Let me think... that last mission Hackett sent her on, before we got locked in the Sol System... he sent Riley to search for that rogue Reaper in the Traverse. The Leviathan. And Cyntria's sister was traveling to do some research in the Traverse! They both go missing there... and show up fifteen years later on the Citadel? What the hell, I don't get it..."

"Perhaps we will learn more from the name of the ship and its destination, Shepard," Yannika said, returning to the screens as in the same moment the doors to the Spectre offices behind them opened, a woman dressed in a tight black infiltration suit stepping through. "I'll dig up this intel for you, Shepard, feel free to step into the practice range with Spectre Lawson if you need privacy."

"Shepard, how fortunate that you-" Miranda began to speak as soon as she noticed Morgan at one of the consoles, the woman falling silent when she realized that they had company in form of their asari colleague. "Oh, Spectre Vasir, my apologies, I did not notice you there."

"No need to apologize, Spectre Lawson," the asari replied, only briefly turning away from the vid screen, too captivated by the unexpected developments. "As I already told Shepard, feel free to use the shooting range if you require privacy."

"Yes... I'm afraid I must speak to Shepard in private," Miranda nodded, giving Morgan an impatient state and urging her to walk the few steps over to the soundproof shooting range, following Shepard inside and closing the doors behind her.

"What's up, Miri?" Morgan asked, feeling rather nervous about the way Miranda was acting. "You're kind of scaring me here."

"Shepard, we have a problem," Miranda let out a deep sigh, her expression full of genuine concern that Morgan remembered having seen only a few times before. _She looked like that the one time when we needed to relocate Oriana's family__ from Ilium. _"It's Kasumi."

"Kasumi, what about her?" Morgan suddenly felt short of breath, her chest constricting painfully.

"She got a tip about a meeting between two Shadow Broker agents and went to investigate," Miranda quickly explained. "We agreed that she would contact me as soon as she reached her destination, but I never heard from her. It was very unlike Kasumi, so I immediately went to Sentry Omega to investigate."

"Sentry Omega?" Morgan blinked. "Someone even remembers that cluster still exists?"

"It's one of the last remaining pirate strongholds in the Skyllian Verge, Shepard. As far as a place of meeting between Broker agents it made complete sense," Miranda shrugged. "Anyway, I tried to retrace her steps, which led me to Virmire Orbital Station. Once there, I learned that the ship she had arrived with had been involved in an incident."

"Incident, what incident?" Morgan hissed impatiently. "Miranda, is Kasumi alright or not?"

"I can't say for sure, Shepard," Miranda shrugged again. "The maintenance workers of the station had found the murdered pilot of Kasumi's transport. They hadn't found any trace of Kasumi, and nor did I. The transport had left, but it did not depart towards the destination Kasumi had set, instead heading for a relay jump. They've abducted Kasumi, Shepard... I'm sure of it."

"Gods... not Kasumi," Shepard gasped, old memories rushing forth into her mind, the images of Feron strapped to the torture device on the old Shadow Broker ship circling Hagalaz. _We can't let that happen to Kasumi... we must get her back quickly! _"And you weren't able to learn anything at all?"

"Shepard... Shadow Broker does tend to employ only the best. They have been taught not to leave behind any evidence," Miranda replied patiently. "The surveillance cameras had been malfunctioning that entire day for _unexplained_ reasons. As for forensic evidence at the scene of crime, well, the maintenance crews had already gone over the docking bay and cleaned it several times, there was nothing left there to examine. I did read the dead pilot's autopsy report, but there was nothing much there to work with, either. He was killed with biotics, but then again, that's not really rare, is it?"

"Yeah... so, the Shadow Broker has our friend, and we have no leads," Shepard summarized gloomily. "Gods, now I know how Liara must have felt on Ilium. Never mind mourning me during it all." She caught Miranda giving her a strange look and immediately snapped back into reality. "Right... Miri, we need to mobilize the entire Spectre network, put all resources we have into finding her, agreed?" Miranda nodded swiftly. "I'll speak with the councilors and get their approval to forward extra resources. Shadow Broker kidnapping a Spectre is an insult to the Council, and I think they will see it that way too, insisting that we track down the Broker. Damn that bastard... they're really gone too far this time. When we catch up with this new Broker, we're taking the entire network down... nobody should have access to these resources of a criminal empire..."

"It has been said that the galaxy needs the Shadow Broker in order to remain in balance," Miranda agreed thoughtfully. "I think these latest events prove that this is a faulty assumption."

"You could say that again," Shepard nodded. "Did you check out the intel that lead Kasumi into the trap? Who supplied it? I know Hock assigned Kasumi to look into the Broker activities again, was she involved in it?"

"Nah, Hock is clean, the intel didn't go through her," Miranda replied, the news souring Morgan's mood even further. "The Spectre who gave Kasumi the intel... well, I'm going to speak with the turian in person, but I pulled his story and it looked legit to me. It's more likely that the Broker has a mole... or several moles in our network, and they knew that Kasumi was going after them. Maybe the Broker knew that the turian had retrieved that intel from their agents, and it gave them the time to set up the trap."

"Yeah, that could be it," Shepard conceded unhappily. "I'm wondering where else we could turn to for help... hmm, I'll speak with Aria, maybe she knows of someone who has connections with the Broker."

"Sounds good, Shepard," Miranda looked at her approvingly, before her face twisted with concern again. "Damn it, this... is so upsetting, it has actually made me put everything I witnessed on Horizon out of my mind..."

"Oh yeah?" Morgan just about managed the courtesy to ask, her thoughts also completely overcome with worries about Kasumi's fate. "What's the situation like out there?"

"I saw your Eden Prime report, Shepard. Take that, but double the Alliance presence by two and you'll get Horizon. I'm quite certain that if the Alliance is serious about putting their own people in charge of the colonies, they'll start with Horizon... and if they start pushing, things will get violent, I can promise you that," Miranda sighed deeply. "Then I'll have to worry about Oriana as well... she refuses to move to the Citadel, at least until things blow over. Ori insists that she needs to be there for the people of Horizon... that bleeding heart idealist..."

"She reminds me of someone I know... oh right... she reminds me of _you_," Morgan pointed a finger at her friend, Miranda almost managing a smile.

"Perhaps there are some... similarities," she eventually agreed. "Oh yes... and you might find this funny... she's no longer dating some random asari, Ori is now living together with your old Comm Specialist from the SR-2."

"Traynor? Seriously?" Morgan blinked, shaking her head in disbelief at Miranda's affirmative nod. "Well... I guess they are a decent match. I mean... Sam was a pretty smart cookie, even if socially she was a bit of a walking disaster..."

"Tell me about it," Miranda rolled her eyes. "She also has a terrible habit of wandering around the apartment naked. It's just... awkward, but Ori does not seem to mind. And if I have to choose between her and Random Asari Waitress #23, I'll take this Traynor for my sister." Morgan also allowed herself a smile at that, and it served to bring Miranda back to the grim reality. "Anyway, we're getting sidetracked. There are a lot of things I need to check, plenty of people to see until we can start a proper search for Kasumi... I trust you'll be focusing on finding our friend as well, yes?"

"Of course," Morgan nodded confidently. "Though I can't completely abandon the case on which I was working together with Yannika just now. It's... turning out like it could be more serious than I thought. "

"Just remember that Kasumi might not have much time," Miranda said, looking as crestfallen as Morgan ever remembered seeing her, Lawson just about managing to recompose herself before they left the shooting range.

"Hey, Shepard!" Yannika Vasir called out as soon as they emerged. "I've got some more intel here about the ship they boarded and its destination!"

"Let's hear it," Shepard said, trying to get her attention back to the other case, something that proved extremely difficult to do, especially after Miranda's reminder that Kasumi's life might very well be hanging in balance.

"They left on an unnamed turian cargo freighter, but I pulled the ship's registration data from the relevant archives," Spectre Vasir explained. "Their destination is stated as... Sigurd's Cradle. Is there anything particularly interesting in Sigurd's Cradle?"

"There are quite a few possible destinations," Miranda spoke up, without even knowing the particular details of the case. "Sanctum is still a lawless criminal haven, the human colony on Watson appears to be thriving and the asari have began re-colonizing Chalkhos. So, it is actually a rather bustling system nowadays."

"Right... so, how do you intend to find a single freighter in a large, bustling system, Shepard?" Yannika asked, looking at Morgan.

"Hmm... actually..." Morgan mused, a thought slowly forming in her mind. "I have a pretty good idea about which grateful synthetic friends of mine to ask for help in investigating this system for us..."


	40. Omega, Redesigned

**Chapter 40 – Omega, Redesigned**

_Year 2201 CE  
Discovery, Capital of Horizon_

"Oh, Sam..."

"Oh, Ori!"

"Sam..." the two women broke apart from each other, breathing heavily, carefully disentangling themselves from the heap of limbs on the slightly dusty floor, looking around for the hastily discarded pieces of clothing, scattered around the small attic floor filled with old hardware, broken office furniture and shelves with archived datapads.

"Ori?" Samantha Traynor asked innocently, pulling her pants up, hiding her toned thighs from her lover's eyes before buttoning up her jacket.

"We should probably stop doing this," Oriana Lawson sighed, looking around the cramped attic floor of the municipal building and effectively the seat of power on Horizon. Technically, the attic was considered to be an archive for storing old and irrelevant information, but in reality it was a storeroom that saw use maybe once or twice per year when someone needed to get rid of their old and broken computer terminal, or some office shelf was bursting with useless datapads. Only the security and the cleaning staff were supposed to have the electronic pass-code to enter the archives, but both Samantha and Oriana knew enough about rudimentary hacking to get past the rarely used doors and now and then they mysteriously disappeared for half an hour to engage in highly unbecoming and scandalous activities that would surely see them both lose their jobs if Governor Erikson ever learned about their slanderous activities.

"You're not actually serious, are you?" Traynor grinned at her girlfriend.

"Well, no... but I'd like to hold on to this job, if it's all the same with you," Oriana rolled her eyes in reply, beginning to feel a little embarrassed at how easy Samantha was able to talk her into their debauched misadventures.

"Do you really think Erikson would fire us if he found out?" Samantha asked, looking doubtful and disbelieving. "He would be completely lost and helpless without all the work we're doing for him, making sure this colony continues to run smoothly."

"There is that, yes," Oriana agreed with a smile, then jumping a little nervously from a sudden sound somewhere close, likely below them. "Um... what's that? Come to think of it... I thought I heard some weird noises while we were... uh, not those noises, get your mind of the gutter, Sam!"

"I didn't hear anything else other than the sounds you were making, Ori," Traynor grinned, but then another loud noise went off, much closer this time, making both women suddenly turn pale and frightened. "That's... gunfire!"

"Oh no..." Oriana gasped, her eyes fixed on the doors leading into the archive, expecting them to be kicked in or hacked open any moment now. "Hey... Sam, do you still have that hack that lets your omni link up with the surveillance systems?"

"...good thinking, Ori," Traynor nodded, quickly brushing her fears aside and activating her omni-tool, starting to poke around the various hacking programs at her disposal. "Let's see... damn, all the cameras have been disabled... yeah, I guess they would do that."

"Try the external ones if you can," Oriana urged.

"Hmm, worth a shot," Samantha agreed, switching to the cameras surrounding the perimeter of the municipal building. "Alright, some are still active here... let's have a look... oh crap!"

Oriana did not need much time to agree with the sentiment expressed by her girlfriend. The outside of the building was literally surrounded with the blue Alliance shuttles, people being led out of the building at gunpoint and unceremoniously thrown inside the transports. "My god, they're taking everyone!" she gasped, pointing at one of the shuttles. "There's Erikson, they've got him as well!"

"Fortunately they're not putting up any resistance," Samantha sighed, shaking her head. "There must be what, hundred twenty to hundred fifty people on the premises? This would have become a bloodbath quickly... well, umm... unless they are taking them away for execution," Traynor gulped, turning white as chalk.

"I... cannot imagine the Alliance going that far..." Oriana said quietly. "I guess the shots were fired at the security guards." At that, Traynor zoomed the focus of the external camera in on the small security post at the entrance of the building, revealing bullet-ridden, smashed glass, corpse of one of the guards hanging limply over the security gate. There was another guard, still alive, trying to crawl away from the scene, leaving a distressing trail of blood behind them. One of the Alliance soldiers walked up to the injured security guard and shot them five times in the back. The guard twitched slightly and stopped moving. "Oh no... that was Staunton..." Ori sobbed. "She was so happy about being moved here from the crap details at mining sites... always bragging about her house in the countryside, showing pictures of that beautiful garden..."

"I... I know..." Traynor sighed, reaching out and pulling her girlfriend closer, continuing to watch as the Alliance shuttles began to take off and depart one after another. "They're leaving... we're going to be safe for now, Ori... small consolation, but..."

"I wonder if the apartment could be still considered secure," Oriana mused, still sounding distressed. "They would have noticed our absence, Sam. We're both fairly high up the ranks at the offices, they would not let us just slip through the cracks so easily."

"Hmm... yes... I suppose you're right," Traynor agreed, a little reluctantly. "We need to get somewhere safe and wait things out, at least until we know what's happening. And the first thing we need to do... we need to get in touch with your sister..."

* * *

_Shadow Broker Base, Unknown Location _

When Kasumi first came back to her senses from the debilitating injection that had robbed her from consciousness for an undetermined period of time, she found herself lying in a reasonably comfortable bed in a small, sterile living quarters of either a large ship or a space station. For some reason, the cabin reminded her of Shepard's quarters on the Normandy, having a similar layout while being slightly smaller, also equipped with a shower and toilet, window on the ceiling showing her the cold vastness and emptiness of space surrounding them, wherever it was that the Shadow Broker agents had brought her to.

The discovery that she had been stripped out of her infiltration suit, carrying all the tools of her trade, had been very distressing, and she had hoped that it had been the asari commando doing this task, shuddering a little from the thought of how vulnerable and defenseless she had been, should anyone had thought of trying something horrible and inappropriate. Now, upon waking, she discovered that her clothing consisted only of her underwear and a white, loose hospital gown, and she hated the way it made her look small and vulnerable, instead of the sleek, dangerous predator she appeared when wearing her combat suit. At least the cabin was warm, so she was not freezing in this sparse clothing.

Her first thought after waking up in this strange room was to try and look for some means of escape, searching the cabin for any weak spots and trying to find something that she could use as a tool, electronic or mechanical. Sadly, whoever had outfitted these living quarters, appeared to be very well prepared. There were hardly any electronic devices, certainly not nearly enough for her to stitch together into something creative and workable. It almost seemed as if the Shadow Broker was mocking her when she discovered that a small shelf by the bed had been filled with real, printed books, instead of electronic datapads. Considering her particular fondness for feeling the pleasant surface of fine paper between her fingers, this gesture was a certain signal from the Shadow Broker, as if to say that they knew all her secrets and that any attempts to escape this place would be doomed.

Having wasted several hours by frantically searching for the means of escape, Kasumi eventually began to settle down, realizing that she would not be getting out of her predicament all that quickly. Other thoughts began to swim through her head and she also felt compelled to make use of the shower in order to wash off the crawling sensation of someone else's hands having roamed across her skin to remove her clothing, but having noticed that in-built and inaccessible wall cameras watched every corner of the little space, she decided to put the shower off for now, unwilling to put up a show for the Shadow Broker, whoever they were. _Sooner or later I'll have to do it, though... well, unless I can escape in the next few days. _

Even if she had refused the idea of a shower, Kasumi did spend a few moments to discreetly make sure that she hadn't been physically mistreated, especially in the most vile and despicable manner possible, much to relief finding no evidence of having been used in the most degrading fashion. In fact, the burns on her left arm had been healed and appeared not to have left any traces, and her neck felt only slightly sore from being pierced by the sharp needle of the injection.

Soon enough, her thoughts began to cloud with anger, firstly at her foe, obviously, but even more towards herself, Kasumi starting on a path of mental self-flagellation for falling into what now appeared like a very obvious trap. _How could I be so dumb? _She sighed inwardly. _I can't believe I didn't sense anything wrong about that intel, but it really didn't feel as if anything was off about it! Still... one obvious jump point between the relay and my target, of course anyone would know that I would be making a stop there. Such a newcomer mistake... damn it. Let's... let's just hope I don't end up paying for it with my life. I still don't know what the heck this Shadow Broker might want from me... doesn't seem as if they want me dead. Maybe they agree that I'm too cute to be killed... ah, probably not, but it's nice to dream and hope... _

"Miss Kasumi Goto." The disembodied voice coming as if from every wall of the small cabin badly startled the Spectre, and for a moment she simply sat as if frozen, having been mortified by the sudden address. "Please, move to the farther wall of the quarters and remain standing there. Hands by your side where we can see them."

"And if don't do that?" Kasumi snarled, having already established that her room was wired in at least eight different places.

"In that case we will gas the room and afterwards conduct our conversation with you being in chains. I can assure you that it will be far less pleasant."

_Well, at least it sounds as if they're afraid of me... that's good, _Kasumi remarked to herself, getting out of the bed and moving to stand where she had been ordered. Roughly twenty seconds later, the heavily secured doors of the small cabin opened and two heavily armed agents stepped through. One of them was the asari commando that had assisted in her kidnapping, her sleek shape glowing with biotics, the other a batarian, someone she hadn't seen before. They both looked at her impassively, facing her down with readied biotics and heavy pistols, respectively, parting to let another figure squeeze between them and enter further into the cabin.

"Ah, miss Goto," the finely dressed, but otherwise completely unremarkable young human male spoke in a voice that sounded falsely pleasant. "I have been trying to get in touch with you for a while now... how long has it been since we've been doing all this twisted dancing? Almost five years, yes?"

"If you only wanted to speak with me, there were easier ways to arrange that," Kasumi remarked, continuing to observe the man and take in as many details as she could. The young human looked unpleasantly familiar, reminding her of certain someone from her past. "I assume that I am currently addressing the acting Shadow Broker?" she asked a moment later.

The man in front of her let out an amiable chuckle. "Truly, miss Goto, we are all friends here, and the title of Shadow Broker just feels so... impersonal. You may call me by my given name... Jonathan."

_Oh damn... so that's where that little Ilium rat disappeared to... Jonathan Hock went to take over the Broker network. And undoubtedly he has been working together with his sister, perhaps helping her get to the position she is in now... the Shadow Broker and a councilor working together... we are in a lot more trouble than we suspected. _"So that's what this is all about, Mr. Hock," Kasumi remarked coolly. "Abducting a Spectre is a rather bold move even for the Shadow Broker. The Council and the Spectres will not simply rest and forget about it, you must know that."

"Oh, I honestly hope that they do not forget!" Jonathan Hock laughed. "In fact, our entire plan rests on the Council sending other Spectres after you. After all, Shepard is... emotionally invested when things concern you, miss Goto. And... whatever it is that we have in mind for you, it would simply be inappropriate to begin before Shepard has joined us. After all, you both committed your crime together. It would be only suitable that the punishment is doled out when you both are present."

"Your father was a criminal, Jonathan. He ordered murders of dozens, hundreds of people, including my partner," Kasumi exclaimed, losing some of her cool, worried not for herself, but for her friends possibly walking into a trap when coming to rescue her.

"I find that completely irrelevant," the unlikely Shadow Broker shrugged, appearing a little amused at Kasumi's emotional display. "He was our father and we loved him dearly. What kind of son would I be if I did not seek retribution from the murderers of my father?"

"The kind of son that lives to see his next birthday?" Kasumi snarled angrily.

But Jonathan only smiled at her barbs, appearing unflustered. "That's the kind of fire and spirit that I love to see, miss Goto," he chuckled, the smile growing cold and almost disturbingly frightening. "And the kind of spirit that I will love to break... you and Shepard, both. We have an entire wing in our facilities here filled with interesting equipment just for that purpose. It will be regrettable to mar such remarkable physical beauty as yours, miss Goto, but... sadly, it can't be avoided."

"You are crazy if you think that you'll get away with this," Kasumi hissed, her skin positively crawling with the direct and horrible threat aimed at her and Shepard. There were not many things that frightened her, but the possibility of rape or physical torture were on top of the things that she knew could break her, and she needed to summon all of her willpower not to appear intimidated by this threat. "Any intel broker worth his salt would know that those who go up against Shepard inevitably end up dead."

"Oh, I am reasonably confident that her luck will run out soon," Jonathan grinned, making a small mock-bow towards Kasumi. "Well, miss Goto, I will leave you to enjoy your solitude... that is, until Shepard shows up. If you run out of books to read or require anything, give us a shout... we're _always_ listening. Oh... and I thought I saw you hesitating to use the shower. Please, don't. Believe me, there's a lot worse that I can easily do to you than simply feasting my eyes on your enchanting figure."

_That bastard... I almost hope Shepard doesn't kill him before I've had a chance to tear his disgusting head from his shoulders, _Kasumi seethed deep inside, watching the Shadow Broker turn around and walk out of her cabin, leaving her helplessly and nervously pacing around her cage, wringing her hands and for once having that uncomfortable feeling of not being in control of her own destiny.

* * *

_Omega, Sahrabarik System _

Having not visited Omega for several years, Shepard was impressed by how much the place had evolved even further in such a short span of time. With even more and more large corporations flocking to the heart of Terminus, cementing its reputation as a safe place for doing business, a tax haven and rich resource of cheap workforce, Omega now began to very much remind Morgan of Nos Astra and Ilium. More and more respectable big-shots were flying around in expensive latest model Cision skycars, and the remaining violent gangs and their wars had been pushed down towards the very bowels of the station, once mighty criminal cartels left fighting for scraps.

With Morgan's passenger shuttle arriving slightly late, she had missed out on her arranged meeting with Aria at her 'office' in the Afterlife's lounge. Aria had sent Morgan a message to catch her at the offices of Acne-vision Buzzard, a widely renowned extranet game publisher in which Aria had acquired the majority stake. Apparently, the company was not matching its projected profits, and Morgan already could imagine what it would mean for the board of directors when Aria showed up for 'surprise evaluation'.

Following Morgan's expectations, when she finally reached the hall in which Aria was holding her talks with the board of directors, the evaluation had already progressed to the so called 'management culling'. Aria's batarian goons were currently busy working to remove several corpses from the corridor, one of the grunts simply grabbing a particularly plump volus by its stubbly little legs and dragging the victim away, the three others trying to do something about the dead hanar who had formed an ugly puddle on the floor. While one of the goons ran off in search of buckets and something to shovel the sludge-like remains of the hanar, the others simply nodded when Morgan quickly asked whether she was allowed to interrupt Aria during her little interrogation.

"I can understand the temptation to embezzle a few millions of credits here and there, when billions flow through your fingers every week," inside the large office, Aria was busy in the process of ranting to a completely mortified, stiff looking salarian, shrinking small in the large chair. "I mean, in your place, I would also probably succumb to the desire to put aside a little something from every transaction. I'm sure Aria won't notice that we're funneling funds into our own pockets from the resellers which we actually control ourselves! Do you know how many such schemes I have seen during the past five years?"

"Will put... everything back... down to the last credit... promise, Aria," the salarian uttered, barely able to speak from fear.

"Ah, you know... the fact that you stole from me doesn't even anger me as much as that other thing," Aria said, her eyes glinting dangerously as she leaned closer to the salarian who was looking as if he hoped for the chair to simply swallow him whole and save him from this inquisition. "The latest Galaxy of Fantasy expansion was a complete and utter shit!" Aria shouted, withdrawing her pistol and pressing it against the salarian's head. "You nerfed my asari valkyrie! For that alone I should blow your brains out!"

"Wait, Aria, we'll make changes, we'll buff-" the salarian quickly spoke up, hope at escape appearing in his eyes... mere moment before Aria pressed the trigger, splattering green blood and bits of salarian brain all over the chair.

"Too late," Aria hissed, sliding the pistol back into the holster at her hip. "I already rerolled."

"Hey, Aria," Shepard decided that this was a good moment to announce her presence. "It's that time for spring cleaning again?"

"Shepard!" Aria exclaimed, approaching her and then quickly making sure that she was not covered in green salarian blood before fiercely embracing Morgan and kissing her on both cheeks. "You know, I didn't really kill him because of making a shit extranet game... though Rila and Falere have been complaining about it, now that I recall. I was going to kill him anyway, I just thought this would make it funnier."

"You really love your job, don't you?" Morgan rolled her eyes.

"Eh, it has its perks," Aria shrugged. "Really, I would prefer not to do this, Shepard, but they all end up tipping my hand. I had this elcor who worked as the president of the Rodam Expeditions, I was almost starting to believe that he was different from the others. Took him nine years to finally give into the temptation and become as corrupt as the rest of the lot. These executive types are all the same, Shepard. Sooner or later they begin to think that they are more clever than their predecessors and become convinced that they can get away with stealing from me. Here's a hint... no, they can't fool me, not one of them has been successful. And yet... nobody has been able to learn this one simple rule."

"Don't fuck with Aria?" Morgan winked at her friend.

"Precisely!" Aria grinned. "Smart human. Hey, maybe you want to run Acne-vision Buzzard?"

"Nah, I value my life too much," Morgan laughed. "Listen, Aria, I wanted to speak... and well, I'd like to be sure that we have privacy. It's not something I want others to overhear."

"Sure, Shepard," Aria looked a little curious, even if she tried not to show it. "Just let me round things up here. Two of these idiots decided to run and I sent Bray with one of the squads chasing after them. Let me check in with him," the Queen of Omega activated her omni and opened a voice channel with her most trusted lieutenant. "Bray, you were supposed to be back by now, where the hell are you?" she demanded.

"Right on time, Aria," Bray answered, but not on the omni-tool, the massive batarian stepping in through the office doors that Morgan had left opened.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Aria spoke, hands on her hips as she stared down the batarian.

"They beat us to the docks and boarded a transport shuttle-"

"Bray, if you have failed me in this-"

"Nah. There was some malfunction with the station's defense grid. For some reason it vaporized the departing shuttle. The techs are all rubbing their heads in confusion, trying to explain that one," the batarian replied smugly.

"Ha! Good batarian, Bray! Here's something extra for you," Aria laughed, tossing a few credit chits in his direction, the large batarian nimbly catching them all in the air. "Also, Bray, I have a few empty spots on this board of directors if you're interested," she offered magnanimously.

"No, thanks, I would rather prefer to keep my life," Bray declined politely.

"See, this one is smarter than the average batarian," Aria chuckled, looking at Morgan. "And you're smarter than the average human, Shepard. Alright, enough dawdling around here, Bray, pull up a skycar, Shepard and I need to get back to the Afterlife."

Some thirty minutes later, Morgan and Aria were sitting on the famous couch in the small space above the Afterlife lounge, enjoying drinks, snacks, and the languid movements of the asari and human dancers on the floor below. Aria had ordered Ahz, her main salarian tech expert, to once again scan her 'office' for bugs, just to reassure Shepard that they would not be overheard while talking.

"So, what's the big issue plaguing you today, Shepard?" Aria was the first one to speak after they had simply sat there, lounging and relaxing with their drinks. "Still the galaxy won't let you catch a break?"

"I don't think it ever will," Shepard chuckled bitterly. "Listen... I need you to keep this to yourself, okay?" Aria nodded, looking a little annoyed that Morgan even needed to mention that. "Kasumi, a friend and a fellow Spectre, got abducted by the Shadow Broker. It's... been a while now, and I'm starting to get really desperate for leads. I mean, surely there are some threads here on Omega that I could chase down."

"Ah... that's going to be difficult," Aria said, shaking her head a little sadly. "After what the Broker's smear job did to Tevos, they've been keeping their presence on Omega very light, fearing that I might go after them. That said..." the Queen pointed towards one of the asari dancers below, a young, tall and beautiful maiden. "That's Tykkira. Pretty little thing, isn't she? And so willing, too, she has sorely tested my devotion to Tevos a few times already. But... according to my intel, she's one of the three individuals on this station who report to the Shadow Broker. Not directly, obviously... I think she's quite far down on the food chain."

"Do you think she knows enough that it would be worth talking with her?" Morgan asked.

"At most you will learn the names of two or three other agents, and perhaps one of them will be a little closer to the Broker and might know more," Aria shrugged. "But here's the unpleasant thing, Shepard. Broker chooses its agents well, and they fear him a great deal. She will not simply tell you things because you ask her nicely. There's only one way you can make Tykkira share everything you want to know."

Morgan felt a shudder pass through her body. "Are you talking about... torture?" she asked quietly.

"Well, obviously," Aria sighed. "I'd hate to lose such a talented dancer, but... in the name of our friendship, if you want to see her screaming on the torture rack as my batarian goons work her over-... uh, Shepard? What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked, looking a little confused as Morgan suddenly found herself on her knees, vomiting noisily on the floor of Aria's little 'office'.

"Gods..." Morgan managed weakly, plopping back onto the sofa, looking embarrassedly at the mess she had made. "I'm... so sorry, but... I haven't told this anyone, only Shiala knows... I was tortured by batarians some ten years ago, Aria. When you mentioned them doing it to that maiden, I just..."

"Alright, I get it, Shepard," Aria nodded hastily. "I'll get a cleaning drone here in a moment, don't worry. But going by your reaction, I suspect that you are not too fond of this option? You wouldn't have to be present, of course. It's not a practice that I particularly approve of, but... sometimes such is the reality of Omega. Sometimes I simply must learn information at any cost. And they always have the choice to make my people stop by simply speaking the truth. In a sense, they are torturing themselves."

"I just... can't see it that way, Aria... it's something... despicable," Morgan muttered, still feeling light-headed and nauseated. "Even if I had the intel from her, when I caught up with the next agent... I'd have to torture them again... and then the next one, and the next one... a vicious circle, until I got anywhere..."

"That's the gist of it, Shepard," Aria said. "That's why I do not think of it as a particularly efficient way of catching up with the Broker. And I'm not just saying that because I'd hate to lose a dancer. Besides, the Broker might notice that his people are starting to go missing, identify the weak link and simply cut it off himself before you get anywhere."

"Also true," Morgan agreed, taking a sip of Aria's Noverian rum, feeling it washing her nausea away. "It just... sucks that I can't do anything for Kasumi... it feels like I should be able to go that extra mile for a close friend... but... should I torture people in order to save her? Is that an acceptable tradeoff, even if these people are scum? I... I don't think so. I don't think Kasumi would approve of it either."

"I'll leave the ethical questions to those who care," Aria shrugged. "I simply do not recommend this path because it is inefficient and impractical. However... I will ask my eyes and ears to be very alert to every move the Broker makes, Shepard. If there is anything worth reporting, you will hear it immediately."

"Well... thanks for the same, Aria. At least it makes me feel as if this trip wasn't a complete waste of time for us both," Morgan sighed.

"Are you kidding? We got to spend some time together, that is never time wasted," Aria grinned. "I've been missing you and the rest of the gang."

"When are you coming back to Thessia?" Morgan asked.

"In a few days, Shepard... or so I think. I'll just make a stop by the Citadel and pick up Tevos. Hopefully nothing will come up to prevent us from spending a week or two in Armali."

"Hmm," Morgan mused ponderously. "You know what, I need to return to the Citadel tomorrow, but then I could wait there and join you and Tevos on the trip back home, how does that sound?"

"Sounds perfect," Aria nodded. "I spoke with the girls last night and even if they try not to show it, I think they are missing me and Tevos. And I bet Liara and the kid miss you as well."

"No kidding, I feel awful about being away so much as of late," Morgan sighed.

"Tell me about it, trying to split my time between Omega, Citadel and Thessia is harder than walking on a tightrope and biotically juggling three snoring volus' without awakening any of them."

"If there's a magic act like that, I want to see it!" Shepard chuckled at that mental image. "But yeah, I've got two very critical and important investigations right now, so... I'm afraid Liara and Lita are getting neglected," she added bitterly, unable to keep the sadness out of her voice. "I hope I can at least spend the coming weekend with them... as long as nothing new comes up. I guess I'll know more after I've gone to the Citadel and spoken with a fellow Spectre. Tela Vasir's baby sister, if you are familiar with her."

"Ah yes, I know her," Aria nodded her head. "Good kid, smart and respectful to her elders. Not like her pompous, arrogant sister. Mind you, Tela's cleavage was what you could describe as... epic. It's a bit of a shame that young Yannika hasn't also inherited those remarkable... assets."

"Yeah... uh, we all notice different things, I guess," Morgan gave Aria a slightly bewildered stare. "Anyway, she's been helping me with a case, and I need to catch up with her to hear about the latest developments." The aid of the younger Vasir had been quite substantial while working on the case of Cyntria's sister. Yannika had confirmed Edoria's human accomplice as Morgan's old N7 comrade and former lover, Captain Lee Riley, and had tracked her steps on the Citadel back to Binary Helix laboratories, while Edoria Kavani had been seen visiting Ariake Technologies. Both companies had refused to disclose any information, however, and denied having ever had any dealings with such individuals, and now Yannika was busy with the task of trying to hack into the well protected computer networks of both implicated corporations, working hard to dig up more leads on what was really going on. From the geth, Morgan still hadn't heard any news, but she knew that Legion and his people were diligently scouting Sigurd's Cradle for any abnormalities.

"Shepard, I've seen enough in my lifetime to suggest that the galaxy is never going to properly shape up and remain that way," Aria spoke up sagely, pouring herself more of the amber liquid. "So, someone cynical might say that all your efforts are inevitably doomed to fail in the end."

"Heh, maybe... doesn't mean we shouldn't try to make the galaxy better, safer, at least by a little bit," Morgan replied. "Liara and Lita will both outlive me. The best parting gift I can leave to them is by making sure that they can live their lives in safety and comfort. Don't you want to leave such a legacy for... well, Rila and Falere, and the children that I'm sure you will have with Tevos?"

"Yeah, certainly," Aria shrugged. "They'll inherit the empire that I've built. I hope they do great things with it. At some point, I will need to teach those two how to run it effectively, but... for the moment, they don't need to concern themselves with anything like that. We, asari, have the time... plenty of it. And, well, I guess we owe that to you, Shepard," she raised her glass to Morgan.

"It's been a weird, but fun ride... and somehow, I don't think we're anywhere near the end, Aria," Morgan smiled at the asari. "But this is why I keep going. For my friends, and for my family."

"Friends and family... twenty years ago, wouldn't have meant a shit to me, Shepard. But now..." Aria raised the glass. "Now I'll drink to that as well. For friends and family..."


	41. The Normandy Flies Again

**Chapter 41 – The Normandy Flies Again**

_Year 2202 CE  
The Citadel, Serpent Nebula_

Spectre Miranda Lawson sat patiently at the computer terminal in her Council granted Spectre apartment on the Citadel, walking distance away from the luxurious Silversun Strip. Currently, she busied herself with quick time zone calculations on the extranet, which reaffirmed her own instinctive guess that it was drawing towards evening time on the capital of Horizon, where Miranda had just placed a voice call to her sister's temporary apartment.

The waiting always set her nerves on the edge, often having to hold on for an hour, occasionally even more, and sometimes Oriana did not answer at all, only later dropping a message to explain that they had decided to switch their location again, just in case. Fortunately, this time, the wait did not turn out excruciatingly long, Oriana answering after merely a quarter of an hour of waiting, the voice of her sister filled with relief. "Miri, so good to hear you," the youngest of the Lawson sisters spoke. "Do you have news for us?"

"Yes, I do," Miranda replied. "But first, let me know what is your situation? Are you two safe?"

"I don't know if anyone here is safe... everyone's still confused about what's going on!" Miranda knew very well what her sister meant by that. The entire local government of the Horizon colony had been rounded up by a Systems Alliance raid, taken to some unspecified location for two weeks... and then, some of them had returned to continue working as if nothing had happened.

Except that they were now acting rather oddly, and all of a sudden, Governor Erikson and his staff appeared extremely pro-Alliance, issuing orders to fulfill every request that the Systems Alliance demanded from the colony. His actions were causing massive rifts amongst the population, civil unrest breaking out in many places and the protests occasionally became bloody. Parts of the colony's militia began to sever their ties with the governor's administration, joining the dissatisfied masses of the civilians and drawing more and more recruits from their midst.

And not everyone from Erikson's staff had returned to work after the Alliance raid. At least half of the people had gone missing, replaced by complete strangers, undoubtedly Alliance inserted moles. In the resulting chaos of so many new faces at the offices at once, Traynor and Oriana had risked slipping back into their workplace, trying to blend in and acting as if they had been taking away with everyone else. Curiously enough, none of their old colleagues ever mentioned the fact that they had been abducted and they never spoke of what had happened during that time of abduction. Both of the young women were extremely hard pressed to maintain their ruse and always publicly act like the Alliance cheerleaders, treating every new command and instruction from the Alliance Command as the ultimate truth, never questioning their orders and generally acting completely and utterly brainwashed.

The governor himself was acting extremely strange, both Samantha and Oriana noticed that very quickly. Something had been done to him during the brief captivity, but whatever non-intrusive scans that they managed to perform did not show anything suspicious. Whether he had been broken through physical or emotional torture, or a combination of both, the couple could not guess, but it was clear that by some means the Alliance now had the governor in their pocket, and they did not hesitate to use Erikson to help them plunder the riches of Horizon for whatever purposes the Alliance military had.

"I wish you would stop risking your life on daily basis, Ori," Miranda noted with grave concern, even if she knew that the intel that her sister and Traynor had access to at the governor's offices was crucial to understanding and predicting the plans of the Systems Alliance, not just for Horizon, but for the other colonies as well.

"You know perfectly well that we can't," Oriana echoed her thoughts. "The resistance needs this intel. They would have never believed that Sam and I are on their side, unless we had used the information to feed them with some important tips. We've saved thousands of people using this intel, Miri. And you know that we must continue to do this."

"Yes, of course," Miranda conceded. "And I know that you're going to be as careful as you can, so there's not much point in me reminding you to watch yourself. I'm just... reading the reports here, they have really stepped up with siphoning the people off from Horizon. It was dozens a day, now we're talking about hundreds, sometimes thousands..."

"I have seen that as well, what's happening, Miri?" Oriana asked worriedly. "Where are they taking them?"

"Back to Sol, our intel suggests. As to why... well, we're all trying to find out the exact reasons... but I'll be damned if they're not feeding that war machine of theirs... of course, the Alliance would still deny everything," Miranda cursed.

"So, Miri, we should probably keep this short... did you have anything new for us?"

"Yes, I've got the contact information with the resistance leaders on Eden Prime. I'm sending the details your way now," Miranda spoke quickly. The Horizon scenario had repeated itself three weeks after the events in Discovery, the leaders of Eden Prime being taken away and then returned as obedient puppets of the Systems Alliance.

"Excellent, we can begin coordinating our efforts immediately," Oriana sounded pleased. "Anything else?"

"It is happening again on Terra Nova as we speak," Miranda said glumly. "My sources in Scott report of Systems Alliance raids on the local government and municipal buildings. They're making a sweep throughout the Traverse to replace or reeducate the undesirables, so to speak."

"Well, we undesirables aren't going to go down without a fight," Ori spoke defiantly. "Miri, let's not waste time, have your people spread the message to the citizens of Terra Nova about what awaits them, and let's get some resistance organized there as well. Tell them that Horizon stands with Terra Nova and that Sam and I would be happy to help in any way we can. Together, we can and must hold out long enough until the Systems Alliance finally slips and reveals the true extent of their war schemes and machinations."

_Damn, she's growing into quite the inspirational spokesperson... leader, even,_ Miranda remarked to herself, feeling intensely proud about the work her sister had been doing behind the scenes. "You're absolutely right, Ori, I'll get on that immediately. And we'll find out what the councilor and the Alliance Command are up to. We simply need you to hold out just a while longer... and be very, very careful, alright?"

"Of course I'll be careful. I learned how to take care of myself from the best... namely, from you!"

"...if only that was so reassuring..." Miranda sighed, smiling as she heard her sister laugh, hearing another voice speaking up and then laughing aloud, Samantha undoubtedly not letting Ori out of her sights, and for that alone, Miranda felt rather thankful to Traynor. "Anyway, Ori... take care of yourself. Love you."

"Love you too, Miri!" Oriana said softly, before disconnecting the call.

For a few minutes, Miranda continued to sit numbly in her seat, staring at the inactive terminal, before shrugging off her brief state of torpor. She rose and walked up to the small bar of her apartment to mix herself a glass of Perfection, before turning to tackle the other numerous tasks on her ever increasingly busy Spectre agenda.

* * *

_SSV Normandy, Horizon Space_

"Hey, Cortez," Flight-Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau spoke, noticing his long time friend appearing on the bridge as the SSV Normandy continued to make circles in low orbit above the planet Horizon, awaiting the order to touch down at the nearby Discovery spaceport. Joker quickly scanned the CIC to make sure nobody else had followed Steve on the bridge. "So... want to play a game while we wait? First one who comes up with twenty reasons why this mission smells like a pile of horse dung wins."

Cortez let out a brief snort, remaining standing slightly behind Joker's seat. Several years ago, during another round of maintenance, Jeff had insisted that the mechanics remove the co-pilot's seat as it brought him too many painful memories of EDI. Since at that time it was not believed that the Normandy would ever see serious action again, the techs had agreed to Joker's request. "Yeah, no kidding," Steve replied after a small pause. "When the order came to pull the old girl out of the Citadel Docks, I thought the brass had finally remembered that it was time to put the Normandy to rest in that fancy Reaper War Museum on New Arc. But no, we've been assigned to the Fourth Fleet and deployed to Horizon? Got my hackles up instantly."

"Yeah, I've been keeping up with what the Alliance have been up to lately, and... I just don't know, man," Joker sighed. "I mean, I'm willing to turn a blind eye to a lot of things as long as they let me fly the Normandy... but damn, those rumors about what they've been up to on Horizon? Not good," Jeff shook his head before picking up a cup of coffee and taking a swig. "By the way, did you get in touch with her? Would be good to know what's going on down there from an inside source!"

"Yes, Traynor just came through with a reply," Cortez nodded. "The rumors are essentially true, but they're not even as bad as the real situation. You know... I suspect I know what we're here for." Joker gave his friend an inquiring stare. "We'll be assisting with the _'extraction and relocation of civilian population'_..."

"Reluctant and protesting civilian population, I imagine?"

"Looks like," Cortez said, his facial expression turning extremely sour. "Well, at least the new Normandy _crew_ won't have any problems with that. Is it just me or... they look and act a bit like Cerberus troopers?"

"What, you mean they're _dead_?" Joker chuckled.

"No! No... before we shot them," Cortez laughed, despite the gravity of the situation. "They're... all grim and silent. Not saying much, even that oxen-faced LC. Just mooed a few orders here and there, telling his drones to prep for a mission. Probably going to touch down, get out and load the rounded civvies onboard."

"Any ideas where we'll be taking them?" Joker asked, the orders so far not revealing that much... if anything.

"Yeah, Sam says that they're shipping them back to Sol like cattle," Cortez said with a grunt. "Traynor doesn't know why, but she says that her more informed friends believe that the Alliance is gearing up for another war... and hell, I'm starting to agree."

"That's just brilliant. So... how many people do you think they can load aboard the Normandy?" Joker mused thoughtfully.

"I don't know... up to hundred quite comfortably?" Cortez shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... just think about it. We could be shipping around hundred people to their fates... I don't know what the Alliance could be planning for them, but I just have this feeling that it's something nasty. And on the off chance that I'm right... do you want something like that on your conscience, Cortez?"

"Ugh... no, I get what you're saying. But..." Steve hesitated. "What the hell are we supposed to do? I mean, we have been given a direct order..."

"Oh, there are a few options," Joker chuckled. "I think that with careful maneuvering we could isolate the new _crew _from critical stations and then lock down the bridge, engineering and several other key access points. This would allow us to take full control of the Normandy."

"...and then?"

"Umm... we bring the civilians somewhere safe... and don't have potentially horrific fates of hundred poor sods on our consciences?"

"You're aware that this constitutes treason, and would be viewed as desertion with all the resulting consequences, yes?" Cortez asked, having gone slightly pale in the face.

"Yeah. But hey, it wouldn't be the first time I steal the Normandy," Joker added cheerfully. "First time was when I stole it from the Citadel Docks to take us to Ilos. Second time it was from Vancouver docks to take us to the Citadel. And I always get away with it, too!" he added with an evil cackle.

"Joker, you're insane. But... you're also right. Nothing has felt... proper about this mission..." Cortez conceded with a weary sigh.

"Nothing has ever felt right about the Alliance ever since they killed Hackett, and you know it," Joker said harshly.

"Yeah, I know you like your conspiracy theories, Joker... thing is, nobody will ever be able to produce the proof to support those claims," Cortez rolled his eyes. "That said... it doesn't really matter, or change, what we must do here. The only thing I want you to figure out before we go ahead with your crazy plan is... where are we going to take the Normandy afterwards!"

"Umm... yeah, so I was thinking... there's actually only one place we can go," Joker gulped a little uncomfortably. "We'll need the help of an old friend... someone to whom I still owe... oh, I don't know, a thousand apologies..."

* * *

_The Citadel, Serpent Nebula_

"So, Mr. Shadow Broker," Councilor Katherine Hock spoke in a sultry voice, tapping her elegantly manicured fingers against the surface of the desk, her attention fully focused on the image formed on the QEC communicator. "How is our lovely prisoner coping? Tell me everything."

"She's doing well enough. We have not mistreated her, as you requested," Jonathan replied hastily. "But she is sorely lacking company, so that we can finally get on with the show. Where is Shepard? You promised that she would be on her way already by now!"

"Yes... getting a hold on Shepard is proving rather tricky so far," Katherine sighed. "I'm still yet to exchange more than a few hastily spoken words in the hallways with that woman. She always has the excuse of being on some kind of urgent mission, usually from the asari councilor. You'd almost have to think that Tevos is running interference for her... hmm..."

"So, what am I to do then?" Jonathan asked, sounding displeased. "I don't want to keep Goto here for a decade until you finally manage to set up the bait for Shepard. Sometimes Spectre Goto makes me feel as if I have a bulls-eye painted on my back..."

"I told you that I will take care of things, Jonathan," the councilor snapped. "You should know better than to question me. And if Goto is causing trouble for you, you have my permission to break her. Do whatever you wish with her, as long as she is still conscious and breathing by the time when Shepard is delivered to you."

"...understood," her brother replied, looking strangely ill at ease.

"I have a few ideas-" Katherine began to speak, suddenly a spike of pain bursting through her head, interrupting her sharply.

_'This pathetic pursuit of revenge does not serve our goals. You will cease all your efforts in this direction immediately.' _

_'I... I... will cease my pursuit for revenge... yes, masters...'_

_'It remains our wish to capture Shepard. But more important to our plans... are the resources of this human... this Shadow Broker... he must be made into one of our own.'_

_'But... he's my little brother... please...'_

_'You have no brothers or sisters, primitive weakling... you are a part of our many thralls, and you all have only one purpose... to serve us, your masters... is it understood, or is punishment necessary?' _

_'No, please! No punishment, I beg you!' _

"Kat? Talk to me!" her brother's voice broke through to alert her senses through the pain and the cutting whispers of the masters. "Kat, is everything alright?"

"Yes... sorry, had to answer an urgent message," Katherine replied, quickly raising her hand with activated omni-tool. "Now where were we..."

_'We require his location. You will acquire it for us.' _

"You mentioned a few ideas about leading Shepard into a trap," Jonathan said impatiently. "Also, you have a nosebleed."

"Oh... damn," Katherine reached out for a handkerchief and pressed it against her bleeding nose. '_Please... don't do that, I beg of you. It will only tip him off that something is wrong. I will get you the location.' _"Yes, but the ideas are a little vague right now, little brother, so I won't bother you with them for now," she said, trying to be as pleasant and charmingly disarming as possible. "Meanwhile, since this could take at least a year or more... I was wondering... I find myself really craving some alone time with miss Goto. Do you think you could arrange it, Jonathan?"

"What? You want to come over here? Are you crazy?" Jonathan hissed, clearly not having expected such a turn of events. "We already agreed that we won't be taking such risks!"

_'Subject appears reluctant to disclose information. Tracing initiated. Keep him talking. Failure will result in punishment.' _

"Oh, come on, it'll be perfectly safe," Katherine tried. Unfortunately, her charms had a tendency to backfire spectacularly when used on her brother. Jonathan simply knew her too well. "I could be there in a few days, just let me know the location of your base."

"And we made it perfectly clear that I was not to reveal my location to anyone, including yourself," Jonathan blinked, looking deeply confused with her strange behavior.

"Don't be so annoying, brother dear," Katherine voice became a purr, trying to stall her sibling, watching how Jonathan was staring at the various displays of his own QEC communicator, growing increasingly more anxious with his sister's strange insistence.

"Receiving some... unexplained interference..." Jonathan's eyes widened as he looked up from the consoles to face his sister through the holo-link. "Are you... are you trying to trace me, somehow?"

"What? No! I would never-"

"That's it, I'm cutting you off, this is getting way out of hand," Jonathan exclaimed, looking almost as if was about to lapse into a state of panic. "Connection terminated!" And then the QEC link went dead and dark.

_'Did you... did you manage to trace him, oh masters?' _she hesitantly probed the mental link in her mind.

_'We did not. You have failed us... councilor.' _Katherine simply froze from the cold dread of what was about to happen, her hands grabbing the edge of the desk as if to shield herself from the incoming mental blow. _'Suffer now, and know that further disobedience will not be tolerated.'_

Katherine bit her lip, so hard that she drew blood, as the throbbing pain in her skull increased tenfold. The handkerchief that she was still holding against her nose turned red in her hands in a matter of moments, blood literally pouring as if from an open wound, everywhere down her chin, onto her white costume, smearing everything as something in her head simply... snapped, and she toppled down heavily, remaining to lay still on the soft carpets in the councilor's office.

* * *

_Shadow Broker Base, Unknown Location _

_What the... fuck was that all about? _Jonathan Hock, aka the Shadow Broker, sat at the command center of his private sanctum, still staring in disbelief at the QEC communicator, unsure of what had just happened. _Did... Kat just attempt to pry my location out of me? My own sister went against me... and for no good reason? Has she lost her mind completely? I hear politics can do that to a person... _

_No, that can't be it, _the young information broker shook his head, unable to accept this version of events. _I... think I know what has happened. I suspect that Shepard might have guessed about the link between Kat and me... she probably knows that we were behind Goto's disappearance. Maybe she held Kat at the gunpoint and demanded that she lured my location out of me... that's the only explanation I can think of. I mean... Kat was acting so strangely, unusually transparently unlike her true self! And that nosebleed, maybe Shepard had... laid her hands upon Kat? Do that to my sister, will you? Well... I can put my hands on Goto in that case. _

_But no, I must first make sure that's exactly what happened, _he mused, slowly beginning to calm down. _I'll send out extra agents to check what has happened to Kat. And I'll set up traps for Shepard myself... I'll think of some way to use Goto as a bait that Shepard won't be able to resist, yes. _He double checked the readings on the various consoles, having analyzed the recording of their QEC conversation with his sister. It did not appear that whoever had tried to trace his location had been successful. _Pfew, well, thanks for that at least. I would hate to relocate... this place is virtually undetectable. And they know that I'm aware of their tracing attempts... so they might expect me to relocate... which makes staying put the perfectly safe option! But I should still triple the amount of agents placed throughout the system... just in case if Shepard herself somehow shows up to investigate... she will find me more than ready for her! _

_As for Goto... _Jonathan switched on the cameras showing the cabin of his prisoner from twenty-four different angles. The woman was sitting cross-legged in her bed, almost appearing like a ghost in that white, formless coat, emotionless expression on her pale face as she turned one page after another of her latest book, Kenzo Kitakata's 'City of Refuge'. _Do I really want to... torture, kill her? I... I'm not sure... how much do I really care about this vengeance? Or was it always Kat's idea, her drive that she implanted in my head. _

His hand reached out to select a few particular, marked vids from the growing collection of security footage archives, beginning to play one of them. This one was a personal favorite of his, and Jonathan Hock reached out and grabbed a pack of cigarettes, pulling out a smoke and lighting it as he watched the recording with enraptured expression on his face. _The way that the running water of the shower makes her jet-black hair glisten... she is so beautiful, _he thought, watching the woman in the shower looking up at the camera with a baleful glare, expression of loathing in her narrowed eyes, as if aware that she was being watched.

_She is perfection itself, _Jonathan thought, taking a deep inhale of the cigarette, smiling as he watched Kasumi's hands traveling all over her body, the soaped sponge moving across her breasts, down her stomach, sliding even lower. _Fuck... I'm not sure I can hurt something so perfect... but I can't let her go, either. If I do so, she will come back to kill me simply for all this humiliation and intrusion upon her privacy with those cameras everywhere... perhaps I should just ask someone to put a bullet through her brain and then get out of this mess while I still can? Damn..._

Jonathan stood up from his seat at the command center, for the first time this particular surveillance recording failing to distract him from whatever was currently plaguing the Shadow Broker, evidence of his completely frayed nerves. _If something has happened to Kat... if I can no longer count on her support... if I'm left all alone against the Council and their army of Spectres... oh, shit... I'm starting to think that maybe... just maybe I'm in way over my own head, here..._

* * *

_T'Soni Estate, Armali, Thessia _

"Sh-sh-sh..."

"Hmm? What's that, Liara?" Morgan asked, trying to keep her voice neutral and teasing, when in fact it was becoming desperately difficult to retain control as she kept observing the reaction of her bondmate. "Cat got your tongue, honey?"

"Sssshe-she-pard..." Liara moaned incoherently, continuing to rock her hips against Morgan's fingers nestling deep inside her, the asari time and again turning her head back to look at her bondmate, her eyes having darkened long time ago, perspiration pouring down her face.

"Yes, we've established that much at least," Morgan chuckled. This was one of her favorite games that she loved to play with Liara. Her bondmate solemnly agreed that she would meld only after receiving permission to Join with Shepard, and Morgan then did all that she could think of to rob Liara of powers of speech. While Liara usually managed to retain decent self-control while riding Shepard's fingers, whenever Morgan began to use her thumb to apply pressure to that small bud of pleasure right above Liara's centre, her bondmate tended to lose it in the most spectacular ways.

"P-please..." Liara begged, continuing to buck her hips. Morgan knew that she could not deny her bondmate forever. Liara's physical endurance was excellent, but she could not keep this up for much longer, the asari already looking very worn out. Not to mention that now and then Morgan had managed to push Liara over the sacred edge before she had melded with her, in which case Liara only received half the potential pleasure, while Shepard ended up receiving nothing at all, so she was not particularly interested in seeing that happen.

"C'mon, honey, you can do it, just string four words together..." Morgan grinned, speeding up the circling motion of her thumb, feeling Liara respond with chaotic jerks of her hips, a silent scream freezing in the asari's throat as she just about held on.

And then, when things were inevitably reaching their enjoyable conclusion... Shepard's omni-tool, lying right next to her on the nightstand, let out a soft beep, alerting her of a high priority message.

"D-don't you... d-d-dare..." Liara cried in dismay, continuing to rock her hips.

"Hey, I can multitask, you're the one who can't put a coherent sentence together," Morgan chuckled, reaching out and taking the omni with her free hand, continuing to sweetly torment Liara with her other hand. "Huh, the head of security of the Armali Spaceport? Wonder what's that all about?" she wondered aloud, activating the omni and accepting the call.

"Shepard... I... hate you..." Liara gasped, giving Morgan an incredulous stare over her shoulder, but never slowing down either.

"Yes, this is Shepard, I'm listening," Morgan began to speak on the open channel, listening to a very agitated asari official babbling in a particularly nervous voice. "No kidding? They're circling over Thessia? Any idea what they're doing here? Oh... well, can I speak with them? I see, they're asking whether I can accept a call?"

"I... Shepard..." Liara moaned, completely oblivious to the conversation Morgan was having on the omni. "Can I... can I... meld with... you... please?"

"Sure, go ahead," Morgan replied to the agitated asari official, asking to be put through to the surprise visitors wanting to speak to her. However... obviously, lost in her pleasure, Liara interpreted it as a permission that was given for her to meld with Shepard. The next thing that Morgan knew was Liara's orgasm hitting her with the full and sudden delayed fury and desperate need, lifting her hips off the bed before her completely drenched bondmate collapsed on top of her, both of them remaining limp in boneless exhaustion, their combined heavy moans and whimpers slowly subsiding.

"So..." suddenly a very familiar male voice coming from the omni-tool reminded them both that the audio channel was still open. "...does your omni have a new sexy ringtone, Shepard?" Joker said with that annoying, knowing little chuckle of his. "Or maybe... maybe I should take that as a sign that you both are extremely happy to hear from me again..."


	42. The Horizon Fugitives

**Chapter 42 – The Horizon Fugitives**

_Year 2202 CE  
Armali, Thessia _

"I don't want to hear about it," Spectre Morgan Shepard ground out sternly, trying to stop an embarrassing blush from creeping onto her cheeks at the knowing grin that Flight-Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau was sending her way after they had finished their exchange of warm handshakes and shoulder clapping. Now, together with Lieutenant Steve Cortez, the three of them were standing in the Armali Spaceport dock that currently housed the Normandy, watching the asari port officials running around as if someone had set fire to the hem of their robes.

"Sorry about dropping this problem on you, Shepard," Steve said, looking genuinely apologetic, Morgan immediately losing all her desire to launch into a tirade about them creating something of a political disaster by their decision to bring a deserting Alliance ship to the asari space. "I had hoped that Liara would accompany you, I haven't seen her for almost a decade," Cortez added politely.

"Yes, she apologizes profusely, but she had some previously scheduled appointments that she could not cancel," Shepard quickly lied. In fact, her bondmate had not wanted to face anyone, but Joker in particular, after the entire open commlink disaster from several hours ago. Liara had been quite difficult to placate, appearing deeply irritated with Morgan about her even daring to activate her omni-tool while the two of them had been engaged in an act of intimacy. _She looked quite seriously upset, so I'll have my work cut out for later, trying to get back into her good graces. Ah well, I still have that secret stash of emergency chocolate stored away just for an occasion such as this... as well as the jar of coconut massage oil. Yup, that should really hit the spot and make her mellow, I'm sure... _

"Well, if the asari don't kick us off Thessia, maybe you can invite us over to meet Liara and the kid?" Joker asked, grinning and looking as if he clearly did not buy Liara's excuse for not joining Shepard. "You could also show us that awesome estate of yours!"

"Somehow I doubt that we will be allowed to stay, Joker," Cortez said, shaking his head as they all looked around at the docking bay, more and more curious spaceport workers showing up to take a look, having heard the rumor that the fabled Normandy had landed on Thessia. Meanwhile, the security and the customs officers were trying to chase the growing crowds away, urging them to disperse. Morgan had already noticed some representatives of the Armali City Council together with the spaceport officials. It was a small miracle that the reporters were not here yet, and they were all thankful for it, even if their arrival was just a matter of time.

"I don't know what you were thinking, Joker," Morgan said, a little accusingly. "I can't imagine what made you decide that the asari might extend official support to deserters from the Alliance... because technically, that's what you are. I honestly don't have the kind of pull to sort this out... so yeah, congratulations, but you might have very well started a war between Earth and Thessia."

"Hey, what was I supposed to do, just ship those hundred or so people to, I don't know, labor camps or wherever they are taking them?" Joker protested vehemently. "Traynor has been painting a very unpleasant picture of what the Alliance is doing. I can't imagine you wouldn't have done the same in my place, Shepard."

"Yeah... maybe you're right," Morgan agreed after a small pause. "I just wish you hadn't decided to touch down on Thessia. You could have easily contacted me from the orbit, you know."

"But Shepard, look around you!" Joker whined, flailing around with his arms. "All these blue beauties, as good old James would have said. Damn it, I've always wanted to come to Thessia and just hang out for a bit... I'm living my dream right now, so don't ruin this for me, okay?"

"It's going to be a very short dream, my friend," Cortez shook his head, rolling his eyes as he turned towards Joker.

"Are you sure you can't talk to someone, Shepard?" Joker pleaded.

"Well... I can try," Morgan sighed, deep in thought. _Damn it, Tevos won't be pleased when I drop a bomb like this into her lap. She'll be pissed off, and rightfully so. But I guess I have to try, anyway. Those civilians aboard the Normandy need my help, and there must be something I can do for them. _"Alright, fine... but I need to know what the situation onboard is like, before I make any promises."

"We have twelve Alliance marines including the commanding officer on the Normandy... presumably all somewhat hostile by now," Cortez explained helpfully. "And then we also have 103 civilian _evacuees_ from Horizon. The majority of them are held in the armory deck, but around thirty or so are on the crew deck."

"And the marines, where are they?" Morgan prodded.

"We have isolated them from having access to the critical areas of the ship as well as the entire CIC deck. And let me tell you, it was not easy to lure them away before putting Joker's lockdown in place," Cortez sighed.

"But they still have access to their weapons, correct?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, most of them do," Steve nodded reluctantly. "And on some decks, the marines are locked up together with a large contingent of the civilians."

"Without access to food stores or restrooms or..." Morgan finished for him. "Okay, we can't have these people remain in such conditions for long. We will need some kind of a plan. I can't just have you fly around in space like that with a potential hostage situation in the making."

"Umm, Shepard, how do you always make my plans appear more stupid than I thought they were?" Joker grumbled, looking a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Joker," Morgan gave him a supportive smile. "You did the right thing in the end. Sure, you may not have thought out every little detail… or any detail at all, but we'll think of something." _Even if I don't know what it might be yet... maybe Tevos will have an idea. Well, an idea other than telling me that I'm an idiot for dropping this on her. _"Do you think you'll be fine here with dozens and dozens of curious asari fighting for your attention?" Morgan asked as she looked around the docking area, the asari officials all as one staring at her with nervous expectation, nobody wanting to show any initiative in this potential political disaster.

"Shepard, you just described heaven for me," Joker chuckled, giving a small wave to the crowd of asari dockworkers, some of them cheering and bouncing excitedly at the mere gesture.

"It's probably hell for Steve, though," Morgan could not resist a quip as she slowly turned to leave.

"Not at all, I rather like the asari, their open-mindedness is remarkable," Steve smiled back, then sighing as he turned to look at Joker. "It's just that Joker's reaction to them is a little... insufferable..."

* * *

The Armali City Council building was only a short skycar flight away from the spaceport, and Morgan arrived at the center of Armali political life about twenty minutes after leaving her impromptu meeting with the nervous spaceport officials. Seeing Shepard getting ready to leave had only increased the tensions and agitation, and the asari representatives had chased after Morgan, wanting to know what her intentions were. Of course, the officials were in close contact with their own superiors as well, but considering Shepard's Spectre status, they seemed willing to engage in delaying action, trying to toss the responsibility around like a hot potato.

Shepard's explanation that she would return in an hour's time with further news, did make the asari officials look a bit more at ease, and in turn they promised to do all they can to keep the press away, a difficult proposition, but so far there did not appear to be any reporters about just yet. Of course, Morgan knew that her arrival at the Armali City Council and the fact that she was heading for the QEC center, would soon become public knowledge. It also strongly implied with just whom she intended to confer with, but at this point she was simply past caring about all the consequences.

Morgan was reasonably assured that the information about Normandy's unsanctioned landing would have reached Tevos' ears by now, and the fact that the placed QEC call was answered almost immediately was definitely a bad omen as far as Shepard was convinced. And indeed, when the face of Councilor Tevos came into her view, she noticed that her friend's lips were tightly knit, eyes almost ready to shoot lightning, as for once the asari councilor did not appear interested in listening to Morgan's hastily muttered pleasantries.

"Shepard, have you lost your mind?" Tevos spoke in a harsh voice, one that Shepard had not been on the receiving end off even at the rocky starting stage of their relationship. "What are you trying to do? Start a war between your people and mine? Or perhaps trying to get me thrown off the Council again?"

"I'm trying to save more than a hundred innocents, Councilor," Shepard replied, a little defensively.

"Yes, that is very noble, but at what cost?" Tevos shook her head. "I don't know what you intended to ask of me, but the answer is no. I will not be extending any official support to your friends in this matter, the consequences of such actions would be... damning. Your friends must leave the asari space immediately! The fact that everyone will now know that you have consulted me on this matter is damaging enough."

"I didn't come to ask for any **official** aid or support," Morgan ground out, feeling a little offended at Tevos' brusqueness. _Okay, I get why she has to act the way she does, but... this just reminds me of the cold shoulder I always got from her, from the entire Council, while hunting down Saren. And that's... not a happy memory. _"I came to seek the advice of a friend," she said, a little accusingly, noticing how Tevos winced a little from her pointed words. "If you can't give me any official support, then perhaps you can advise me where to find support... unofficially."

Tevos hesitated momentarily, her anger cooling off a little. "Please... give me a moment to think, Shepard," she said, slightly more kindly now, trying to recompose herself. "Hmm... yes, by the goddess, how did I not think of it right away? I must have been too blinded by my raging emotions."

"Umm, yeah... sorry about that..." Morgan shuffled her feet uncomfortably, giving her friend a guilty look. "So, about that idea then..."

"How would your fellow humans feel about a scenic trip to Omega, Shepard?" Tevos actually managed a smile as she spoke those words.

"Aria! Of course..." Morgan sighed in relief. "I'm sorry I didn't think of that on my own... I guess I've been a bit too excited to think properly. I will contact her right away. Thank you, my friend."

"You're welcome, Shepard," Tevos replied softly. "I think it would be best if we stopped our conversation here and now, however. Considering that your involvement in this will not remain a secret, the chances that I will be implicated as well are increasing with every minute that we spend talking."

"Right, I understand completely, my apologies once again," Morgan quickly uttered. The last image on the screen as she terminated the connection was the councilor's nod of understanding. Without any further hesitation, Morgan dove out of the QEC center, ignored the questioning stares of the security guards and officials outside in the hallway as she dashed towards the exit of the city council building, dodged two expectant looking asari with a hovering recording drone, clearly a pair of reporters, continuing to sprint until she reached her skycar and jumped in, immediately lifting off.

However, Morgan did not immediately return back to the spaceport. Having made sure that nobody was following her, the Spectre made a turn from the main skyway and pulled off to make a little side excursion, eventually landing on the roof of a multi-story apartment complex just outside of Armali, the spaceport in her sights less than three miles out. She fiddled with the onboard console of her skycar, using her Spectre access codes to open a comm line, enjoying her priority connection as the request went through immediately, the small vid screen opening up to display the muted live images from the darkened atmosphere inside the Afterlife club.

"Damn it, Shepard, you and your bloody timing," the look on Aria's face as it popped up on the screen seemed to imply that the Queen of Omega was not impressed. "I'm trying to watch Tykkira giving a sensual private lap-dance to a highly attractive human female. Apparently, that's her husband's gift for their wedding anniversary."

"Oh... kinky," Morgan chuckled. "So, do you think you can watch _**and**_ talk, or is that too much for you, Aria?"

"I think I can just about manage that, Shepard," Aria spoke through clenched teeth before biting her lower lip, her eyes narrowing as she looked away from the screen and towards the scene playing out in front of her. "Damn... I wonder who taught that girl. I haven't seen anyone this... limber in decades."

"Uh-huh... so, Aria, I have a bit of a favor to ask of you," Morgan spoke, grinning inwardly at Aria's obviously distracted state. "You wouldn't happen to be in need of some workforce, perhaps?"

"I'm always in need of more workers, Shepard," Aria grunted, licking her lips, squirming in her seat a little as she continued to watch the performance below. "Just a few days ago we had an ex-... explosion in the eezo mines... lost close to seventy people there. A replacement... would be... mmm, nice..."

"Uh, I don't want these people to suffer the same fate... don't you have anything safer than working mines?" Shepard asked, feeling just a tad concerned.

"It's not the mines that are unsafe," Aria snapped, shaking her head and letting out a groan of frustration before turning her attention back to Morgan. "Ah, fuck... they moved to the private rooms."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't have secret surveillance there as well," Morgan rolled her eyes.

"Of course I do," Aria grinned broadly. "It will give me some interesting viewing material for later. Anyway... as I was saying, every job here on Omega is dangerous, especially if you don't observe the minimal safety procedures... gross neglect killed those people, not the state of the mines itself, my friend."

"Hmm... you wouldn't lie to me about this, would you, Aria?" Shepard peered at her now scowling friend.

"Of course not," Aria snapped back at her. "Where did you get these people, anyway? Who are they?"

"My old pilot decided to steal the Normandy with everyone aboard," Morgan explained with a deep sigh. "The Alliance have been whisking innocent civilians away from the colonies and shipping them back to Sol... so I have a little over hundred hapless folks here, together with a dozen of marines who will probably need to be thrown into the brig or something."

"Can't I just kill them?" Aria yawned.

"I'd prefer that you didn't do that," Morgan shook her head.

"Okay, then let me make a solemn promise not to do that." There was something so ready about Aria's promise that it made Morgan instantly suspicious that the Alliance marines would end up with a bullet in the back of their heads anyway. _But the civilians are my priority here, I need to get them to some kind of safety at... well, almost any cost. _

"The civilians will need jobs, housing, provisions, perhaps some clothes and credits to get off to a new start," Morgan continued. "They got snatched with what little they had with them at the moment. These people are very desperate, Aria. It would really mean a lot to me if you treated them well."

"Fine, fine, you can stop boring me," Aria sighed, looking somewhat displeased. "It's quite a lot to ask for, though. I think you should let me use some of those Alliance dogs for my personal entertainment."

"Are you being serious?" Morgan asked in disbelief. _I can't believe she's asking me that, not after everything we've been through together._ "Ugh... well, if that's what it takes... damn, you're spending too much time on Omega, Aria, your violent side is winning out again."

"I've got a reputation to keep up, Shepard. If people see me just caving in easily every time you call me for a favor, they'll start to think I'm running some kind of charity here," Aria snapped. "Now, are we finally done?"

"Aria, I never try to impose on you because I think I can get away with it. I'm honestly only ever turning to you when it's extremely important," Morgan offered in a way of apology.

"Yeah... yeah, I get it, Shepard," Aria sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, when are you arriving? At least let's spend some time together, get drunk and maybe go out to shoot something. Perhaps then I'll be more willing to forget that I'm supposed to be pissed off at you."

"Oh, I wasn't actually pl-..." Morgan suddenly stopped, hesitating. _Wait a moment… can I actually leave Steve and Joker to handle this by themselves? Those Alliance marines on the Normandy could find some means to overpower them or maybe use the civilian hostages to ensure their release... shit, I need to at the very least bring the situation on the ship under control. And it's probably better that I go with them to Omega and see that everything is settled properly with Aria. And then make sure that Aria doesn't hold a grudge against me... and then buy something really exquisite and expensive for Liara to bring back to Thessia, because she's going to be so extremely pissed off that I've suddenly taken off on another mission... _"I think we can be there in a day or two, Aria," she said quickly.

"Fine," Aria nodded. "I'll dispatch some minions to prepare everything for my new workforce. See you when you arrive, Shepard." And with that, the Queen of Omega simply cut her off, as a way to show her displeasure.

_Hmm, come to think of it, those Alliance marines may have managed to free themselves from Joker's lockdown by now. I might actually need some help to pacify them... let's see, maybe I can enlist some additional aid... _Shepard mused, sending a simple extranet message to one of her contacts, then switching the engines of her skycar back on and taking off from the roof, slowly proceeding towards the spaceport as she awaited the answer of her colleague. She did not have to wait for more than five minutes when a reply flashed on the small console of the skycar, Morgan smiling as she read that her fellow Spectre Yannika Vasir was not simply currently present in Armali, but was also well informed about the situation, and already on her way towards the spaceport, accompanied by two other asari Spectres, the three of them having enjoyed a little downtime on the beaches of Lake Armali.

_I'm starting to really appreciate that girl,_ Morgan smiled to herself, pulling her skycar into one of the many parking lots surrounding the spaceport. _She's become so very helpful and friendly, despite the past... makes me really wish there had been another way to handle things with her sister. _

Inside the spaceport, the crowds surrounding the Normandy docking bay only seemed to have grown, a thick line of security officers and mechs now keeping the spectators away, even more guards surrounding a group of officials next to the by now slightly nervous appearing Joker and Cortez, the pair looking indescribably relieved upon noticing Shepard's arrival. The asari officials became even more happier than Joker and Cortez, once Shepard had informed them that the Normandy would be leaving in under an hour. In a matter of moments, the docking bay was cleared of everyone who didn't belong there, only a team of engineers and maintenance techs remaining to go over the pre-flight preparations for the ship.

"I thought you'd never show up, Shepard!" Joker let out a relieved sigh. "Figured that would be your way to get back at me, leaving us stranded here."

"Well, I may have a bit of a bone to pick with you, Jeff, but I wouldn't do that to Steve," Morgan chuckled in reply. "Anyway, good news, boys! Aria has agreed to take these people in on Omega, so that's where the Normandy will be heading to."

"Aria?" Cortez blinked. "Is that even an improvement over what the Alliance intended to do with them?"

"Trust me, I've got it all covered. I have an... understanding with Aria," Morgan replied with an air of confidence and mystery. "They'll be well taken care of."

"Uh... alright, perhaps it better if we don't even ask just what sort of understanding you have with the Queen of Omega," Steve sighed. "Besides, we might have another small problem," he added, pointing at Joker, the Normandy pilot working on his omni-tool.

"Yeah... I've been using this modified software to access the Normandy surveillance cameras," Joker said. "The alliance grunts in the armory have entrenched themselves, and it looks like they're not above using the civilians as shields. Those isolated in the engineering compartments and individual sections of the crew deck just look like they're resting and don't seem particularly bothered. They are also unarmed and won't cause problems. The LC and three others are in the main crew deck, they have rounded up the civilians in the mess hall and are standing guard with their weapons ready. This could turn a little tricky, Shepard."

"Indeed, so I'm very happy that I had the foresight to call in for help," Morgan replied, checking her own omni-tool for messages, reading Yannika's notification that she and her fellow Spectres had just arrived at the spaceport. She chuckled, seeing the surprised stares on her friend's faces, quickly moving to elaborate. "I called in a few fellow Spectres. Together, we should be able to pacify the Alliance marines without putting the civilians at risk. They'll be here in a few minutes, then we'll move."

"Good thinking, Com-... Shepard," Cortez smiled at her, looking a little embarrassed. "Damn... even after all this time, it's hard not to think of you as the Commander. Sorry about that."

"It's okay, Steve," Morgan smiled. "Geez... it's been such a rush again since the moment you two showed up. After we're done helping the civilians, I'd love for us to just sit down and have a drink and chat... what do you say?"

"Sounds great, Shepard," Steve returned the smile. "Though I'm not sure if we'll be welcome back here after we've dropped those people on Omega."

"Don't you get it? I'll be going to Omega with you," Morgan chuckled. "I still need to iron some details of the deal out with Aria. Afterwards, we can hit the Afterlife together."

"I'm just happy to hear you want to see my rat-faced mug at your table, Shepard," Joker said uncertainly.

"I think it's been long enough by now, so we should just let go of whatever happened in the past, Jeff," Morgan nodded at the pilot, with the corner of her eye noticing that they were approached by a trio of gorgeous and intimidating looking asari Spectres, led by Yannika Vasir, swagger and dangerous confidence in their step as they walked towards them. "Ah, and there's the help that I mentioned..."

Joker's eyes widened noticeably as he looked upon the approaching Spectres, the Normandy pilot letting out a low, appreciative whistle. "You know, Shepard... somehow, I think this day might actually turn out to be an excellent one..."

* * *

"...and now for the most difficult task of the day..." Morgan sighed, having finished helping Cortez and two of the asari Spectres stuffing the incapacitated Alliance soldiers into Liara's former quarters on the crew deck, repurposed into an impromptu brig, the Normandy already well on its way towards the Parnitha System relay. "Explaining to my bondmate that I'm suddenly Omega-bound and won't be home for three to four days..."

"Ouch," Steve winced at that, looking sympathetic. "Liara's a gentle spirit, isn't she? I'm sure she will understand..."

"Mhm..." Morgan muttered uncertainly. "Certainly hope it will go as smoothly as disabling these Alliance grunts." The biotics of the asari Spectres and her own tactical cloaking had aided them greatly in almost miraculously avoiding casualties. Three of the marines had suffered light injuries, and one of the civvies had been shot in the foot, but medi-gel had quickly taken care of all those wounds.

"You don't have to stick around here, we'll keep an eye on these fools," one of the Spectres assured them, Shepard nodding gratefully, looking over the now slightly more optimistic, but still worried colonists from Horizon, rounded up in the mess hall, as Morgan made her way over to the elevator and selected the CIC.

Before visiting the comm room, Morgan thought to first hit the bridge and check with Joker about their ETA to Omega, but she came to stop on her way as soon as she heard the voices drifting towards her from the cockpit. "So, flyboy... is the ship always this busy and crawling with people?" Morgan heard Yannika asking in a sultry voice, Shepard activating her tactical cloak and taking a few steps forward to see Joker struggling to keep his attention to flying the Normandy as the gorgeous asari Spectre leaned against the consoles next to him in a particularly... aesthetical position.

"Uh, well... no... it's usually not this busy, no," Joker managed to return, frantically punching one of the readout consoles that suddenly start to blare with hopefully inconsequential alarm.

"Hmm, I see," Yannika purred. "Maybe you should invite me for a visit when there are particularly few people present? You could show me around the ship... I bet there are many interesting things to see. I mean, it's the legendary Normandy, right?"

"Yep, and I've been flying this ship for as long as it's been in commission," Joker replied proudly. "So yeah, if you want a tour, I'm the right person to ask! I can tell you a lot of stories about the kind of trouble we used to get into together with Shepard... and about all the times I saved her ass."

"Hey, relax, if I wanted to hear about Shepard, I would just ask her," Yannika grinned seductively. "Maybe I want to hear about you, flyboy. Maybe I just think you're cute."

"Err... uh... okay, sure... that's... even better," Joker gulped in a small voice, Morgan grinning broadly as she moved away, shaking her head, still under the effects of her tactical cloak.

_That Joker is just too easy for a pretty face to play, _she thought to herself as she worked on the communications consoles, again using her Spectre access codes to reduce the waiting for her connection to get queued. Liara appeared to be in the estate gardens when she answered the call, the asari's face scrunched with surprise and mild irritation when she saw Morgan's surroundings, quickly identifying from where her bondmate was contacting her.

"Let me guess," Liara said in tight, clipped tones that suggested displeasure. "Something came up."

Morgan let out a deep sigh, her face falling immediately. _This isn't right. I'm not treating her the way she deserves to be treated. _"I'm sorry... yeah, something did come up, but... it shouldn't matter. I've been a real asshole lately, and you deserve much better than this."

"You could start by telling me what exactly happened," Liara prodded, keeping her expression neutral.

"Aria agreed to take the Horizon refugees in on Omega," Morgan quickly explained. "I helped to subdue the Alliance crew still onboard, and now I'm going to Omega to make sure Aria fulfils her end of the bargain."

"And what did you think I would find objectionable about this?" Liara continued to press.

"Uh... hmm... from a purely moral standpoint? Nothing, of course... I just thought, well, I got back only recently and I'm already running away..."

"Morgan, didn't we have this conversation once already?" Liara asked, looking more exasperated than angry. "I _know_ the person that I bonded with, Morgan Shepard. You're a problem solver. You don't sit around idly, you need to be out there, fixing things that are broken. This is what you are, and I accept it. Of course, my heart will always long for you while you are away, but... waiting for your safe return is something that I have learned to treasure over the years. Because when you eventually return home, you always make sure to show me exactly how much you love me, and how strongly you have missed me. I _feel_ it... and I know you feel my love in return."

"I do... yes," Morgan replied, her voice becoming hoarse. "You are... beautiful in every sense of the word... more beautiful and understanding than I deserve," a solitary tear rolled down her cheek.

"No, I am not. I simply try to do what a bondmate is supposed to do," Liara smiled serenely. "I am accepting and loving you as you are, without trying to change you. Honestly, Morgan... it is not very difficult. I simply... love you. We both _know_ that."

"And I love you," Morgan sniffed in reply.

"Yes, you do," Liara nodded, her eyes shining brightly from the emotion. "And you also know that I would never stand in the way of your compassion, driving you towards helping others. Or do you have a reason to think me so petty and self-centered?"

"Uh... of course not!" Morgan protested heatedly.

"Then we will speak no more of this matter," Liara said sternly. "Go to Omega, do what you have to do and then return to your family. We will be here, waiting for you."

"Okay... thanks, Liara," Morgan managed a smile. "Damn it, you always manage to make these things appear so simple, when to me they feel so overwhelming and complicated. It makes me feel a bit embarrassed and dumb now."

"But these things are simple, Morgan," Liara chuckled, looking amused. "That said... I have not quite yet forgotten the omni-tool incident. For that I still expect some effort to make up, Spectre Shepard."

"Oh, I have ideas..." Morgan winked at her bondmate. "At least Joker won't dare to mention the whole thing. I think he's a bit worried that he might piss me off for good and ruin our friendship again."

"Well, that's something to be thankful about, at least..." Liara let out a sigh. "I should not delay you much longer, love. I think Lita wants me to join her and Shiala for their biotic training tonight... yes, in fact, they are waving and trying to get my attention already."

"Alright, love," Morgan smiled. "And tell Lita that I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly. I'll try to pick up something nice for her on Omega, okay?"

"That sounds acceptable," Liara nodded. "Oh, and one last thing, Morgan... several hours ago I received a call from an old friend of ours. They will be arriving on Thessia in two days, and are looking forward to meeting with you. In fact, they were very insistent upon it."

"An old friend?" Morgan wondered. "Tali? Garrus?" But Liara simply smiled and shook her head. "Oh, come on babe, you have to tell me now!"

"Do I?" Liara clicked her tongue. "I don't think so, Shepard. If you want to find out the truth... I guess you'll just have to hurry back home as quickly as you can..."


	43. Reaper In A Cradle

**Chapter 43 – Reaper In A Cradle**

_Year 2202 CE  
Omega, Sahrabarik System _

"Shepard! About time you showed up!" Aria's greetings were as always wildly passionate, especially when she had already spent most of the evening by living it up and boozing. "Did everything meet with your approval, you spoiled Spectre Princess?" the asari chuckled, pulling Morgan into a tight hug, smooching her on both cheeks, a sight that made Joker and Cortez behind them exchange slightly stunned stares.

"I guess Shepard truly has reached an understanding with Aria," Cortez muttered quietly, shaking his head.

"Yeah, wonder how understanding Liara would be about it if she only knew," Joker chuckled, quickly recovering from his surprise. "Maybe we're looking a delightful blackmail opportunity developing right before our eyes..."

"Sorry to disappoint you, boys, but there's nothing between me and Aria that would make Liara smear me against the wall with a biotic throw," Morgan chuckled, turning back to her two old friends before slipping her arm around Aria's waist as the two of them strolled through the Afterlife, followed by Joker, Cortez, Yannika and her two Spectre friends. "As for your question, Aria, yes, everything looked more or less alright."

Together with the others, Shepard had just spent several hours working alongside Aria's people to bring the refugees to their new, almost decent accommodations at the belly of the Kenzo District, while Bray together with his batarian posse had grabbed the Alliance crew and brought them to one of Aria's many secret bunkers that was equipped with sufficient amount of holding cells. Morgan still wasn't sure whether she believed Aria's vague assurances that the marines won't be harmed, but overall her thoughts were more occupied with concern for the Horizon civilians. Much to her relief, the people seemed to be holding up more or less fine, despite some of them having been separated from their families, left in the dark about the fate of their loved ones. But she had witnessed plenty of touching scenes with the refugees trying to put on a brave face, comforting and supporting each other, all as one thanking her, Joker and Cortez for taking the risk and sacrifice in bringing them to safety.

"Good to know, Shepard. I would have felt very upset to hear that something was not to your satisfaction, after I went through making such an effort for your sake," Aria replied, then pulling Shepard a little closer and slapping her hand against Morgan's backside. "But come now, for the next few hours I want you all to myself. One of my people will hang around to show your friends to the VIP lounge."

"She really likes to create this kind of sexual tension and pretend that there's more between us than there actually is," Morgan explained, turning towards the others, her words accompanied with cheering, catcalls and general amusement as Aria roughly pulled her away towards the Queen's little lounge, overseeing the entire nightclub.

Not even an hour had passed and Shepard already found herself considerably tipsy, accompanying every other sentence with a drunken giggle, Aria opening the second bottle of elassa for Morgan, the asari sticking with her favorite brand of Noverian rum. Morgan was always a little hesitant about getting drunk together with Aria when they were all by themselves, remembering what had occurred that one time on the Citadel, and because they both were aware of their attraction towards each other, strong despite their devotion to their respective bondmates, not wanting to do something during a drinking binge that she would regret for the rest of her life. Still, this time, Morgan felt that she owed Aria for her generosity in aiding the refugees, and thus, she was unable to reject Aria's offer of drinking themselves silly together.

"So, Shepard..." Aria purred as Morgan was busy watching the cameras showing the floor of Afterlife's VIP lounge, noticing Joker dancing with Yannika... or to put it more accurately, Joker shuffling tentatively, while the vibrant, beautiful asari moved around him enticingly. Cortez looked to be deep into his cups, animatedly debating something with an officious looking elcor, having come to stand at Steve's table. In the meantime, the two other asari Spectres were sitting at the opposite side of the table, lip-locked and oblivious to everything else around them. "Do you prefer to stay here and drink until we both pass out, or should we go out and cause some trouble?"

"I wouldn't mind staying here, actually... Omega isn't the best place to wonder around while being piss drunk, you know," Morgan replied. "One wrong step, and you're suddenly plunging towards a quick, ignoble death two hundred yards below."

"Just levitate yourself to safety with your biotics... oh right, you have none, you poor human," Aria chuckled smugly, before letting out an exaggerated sigh. "I still don't understand why you didn't want to let me have fun with some of those Alliance idiots, Shepard. We could have played this new game I've come up with to get rid of my embezzling executives."

"What game is that?" Morgan asked, already dreading the answer.

"Couple of days back, I caught one of the directors of the Cision Motors Omega subdivision stealing from the employee's pension fund. Smart girl, that one, and pretty too, even for an asari," Aria clicked her tongue regretfully. "But I needed to set an example. So, I let it slip to everyone in her direct employ that there was a promotion up for grabs to the one who gets rid of this asari. I never could have imagined how passionately those drones in middle management hate their bosses! That poor asari never stood a chance in making it off Omega alive."

"Uh... okay?" Morgan blinked, then shaking her head.

"So, I was thinking we could do the same with those Alliance types," Aria nodded excitedly. "Pick one of them, the most annoying one, and release them on the streets of Omega. Then set all the others to chase after them, and whoever kills the target, earn their freedom and get to leave Omega on the next shuttle. Of course, we'd have to put some kind of tracers on them all to stop them from escaping."

"That's kind of sick, Aria," Morgan said, giving her friend a disapproving frown.

"But fun!" Aria would not let herself be deterred. "Come on, don't be so boring, Shepard."

"I'm thinking that you're spending way too much time on Omega, Aria," Morgan said, more seriously now. "You haven't visited Armali for almost two months... and when was the last time you saw Tevos?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but in two days it will be six full weeks," Aria replied curtly.

"But why don't you go to the Citadel?" Morgan asked, feeling surprised. "Did you have an argument or something? When I spoke with her last, she was very... tense, almost bristling with impatience and anger. I think she misses you, needs you."

"Ah... fuck, you think I don't want to go?" Aria sighed, dropping her cocky attitude and leaning back into the soft cushions of her fabled coach. "You're right, Shepard, of course you are. I can feel how this place is affecting me... changing me, the longer I stay here... I keep trying to break free, to hold on to what I've rediscovered with my new family... but Omega keeps pulling me back. It has this... insidious, corrupting, enchanting pull... and it's so hard to resist it."

"C'mon, Aria, don't give up so easily," Morgan said earnestly, feeling sad and worried that her asari friend was showing signs of regression. "We've all seen that you can be so much more than just a criminal warlord. Wouldn't it be a horrible shame to throw away this potential to be something more?"

"Oh, I don't intend to give up, Shepard," Aria said resolutely. "It's just... difficult. Managing Omega takes more time than I expected it would, the expansion of my empire has been so rapid that I... hmm, I hate to admit this, but I might have bitten off more than I can chew. This is too much for one asari to oversee, I'm starting to see that quite clearly."

"And you really can't find anyone who could help you with running your empire?" Morgan asked. "I... feel strange saying this about a batarian, but this Bray fellow seems decent enough."

"Hah! A batarian as a financial advisor?" Aria broke out in a heartfelt laughter. "Bray is perfect in his current position, and I wouldn't want to see him wasted in a role he is simply not suited for. However... to answer your question, there are two individuals that I could trust with helping me run and manage my empire. But... they are young, inexperienced and they have much to learn before they are ready."

"Rila and Falere? Hmm... well, I guess they are family now, and who else can you trust but family?" Morgan said, her brow furrowing with uncertainty.

"Indeed, that should be the case. And don't worry, Shepard, I don't expect them to work as enforcers," Aria chuckled. "But I have a massive amount of financial reports flooding my terminals every morning, and it's just so fucking boring to deal with that shit, trying to identify the signs where something isn't running as smoothly as it should be. I want to train the girls to help me run my business as something akin to financial advisors and analytics."

"But they don't have that kind of education!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Way ahead of you, Shepard," Aria laughed again. "Say, have you noticed some... odd visitors to my Armali estate as of late?"

"Hmm, let me think... oh yes, a couple of weeks ago, I saw those two volus rolling their way across your front yard towards the estate. What's up with those guys?"

"Two of the leading professors from the Irune Academy of Financial Sciences," Aria grinned. "In three years, the girls will become as shrewd as any volus banker. I have great faith in them. They are very bright and intelligent, and they know how to use their keen minds. I have little flattering to say about the way my people treat the Ardat-Yakshi, but at least they have received decent general education at the monastery. While most asari maidens spend those years whoring around, these two have been taught how to use their brains. They will be of great help to me."

"Well, I hope it works out in the end," Morgan nodded. "But seriously, go visit Tevos. I think you both need to get laid."

"Ha! After a break of six weeks, it will be nothing short of epic," the Pirate Queen smiled knowingly. "And yes, Shepard, I had every intention of going to visit her soon. In fact, I had already made arrangements to leave at the end of the week."

"Oh... that's good," Morgan breathed out a sigh of relief. "By the way... there was one more thing that I wanted to ask you about," she suddenly remembered a certain detail she had nearly forgotten in her semi-drunken haze.

"What, more favors?" Aria scowled. "I'm starting to think I should collect something from you in payment..."

"Just a teensy favor this time, Aria," Morgan made a mock-pleading gesture. "It just occurred to me that the Normandy is a wanted ship of Alliance defectors. I was wondering if you could maybe hide it on Omega, until all this unpleasantness blows by."

"Hmm..." Aria paused, deep in thought, as she tapped an elegant finger against her chin. "Well... I could do that... but only on one condition..."

"What condition? "Morgan asked worriedly.

"I get to use it now and then," Aria grinned in reply. "I always wanted to take that bird out for a spin. I promise, I won't scratch the paint, you can trust me on this, Shepard!"

"Uh... I don't think so?" Morgan raised an eyebrow, not having expected such a request. "The Queen of Omega flying an Alliance ship? That's just wrong."

"Ah, don't be like that, Shepard... remember, you owe me big time..." Aria purred, leaning dangerously close to Morgan, so that she could feel the asari's intoxicating and spicy breath, Aria's hand sneaking onto her thigh and beginning to gently move up and down, sending Morgan squirming and trying to pull back a little while doing her best to retain her dignity. "You want to let me fly the Normandy, Shepard... I will treat her well, and you know it..." the asari continued her teasing touch, until Morgan finally gave in and nodded, letting out a relieved sigh when Aria eventually pulled away.

"Seriously, Aria, if something happens to the Normandy while it is in your care, I'm not going to be happy," Morgan warned seriously, a little annoyed at how casually Aria shrugged off her concerns. "Oh right... and Joker and Cortez will probably have to stay on, also to make sure you don't decide to repaint the Normandy in Omega colors or something equally unacceptable." Aria's face looked positively dreamy at that mental image. "NO! Aria, no! Gah, stupid me for even mentioning that! No new paint jobs for the Normandy!" Shepard exclaimed.

"Bah, you are so boring, Shepard," Aria pouted. "Remind me again why I like you so much?"

"Well... hmm, if you want to have some fun... let's go to the VIP lounge and inform Joker that he's your new pilot," Morgan chuckled, getting up from the couch, then nearly toppling over, having to balance herself against Aria's equally unstable frame as the two of them headed towards the exit from Aria's private lounge. "Gosh... the look on his face at these news will be something... just make sure that your cameras are recording..."

* * *

_The Citadel, Serpent Nebula_

"Councilor Tevos," humanity's representative on the Galactic Council, Katherine Hock, spoke while pointing an accusing finger at her asari colleague. "I wish to lodge an official complaint regarding your actions towards a deserting Alliance ship seeking refuge on Thessia!"

"What exactly is it that you are complaining about, Councilor Hock?" Tevos asked in return, keeping her facial expression neutral, the rest of the councilors observing their little spat with undisguised interest, considering how rarely such passionate disagreements became a part of Council sessions these days.

"First of all, do you deny your personal involvement in these events, Councilor Tevos?" Hock demanded aggressively.

"I was made aware of these developments, yes," Tevos nodded after a small pause. "As you will recall, we refused to extend any aid to those who sought shelter, out of our respect for our much valued human allies. This deserting ship then departed in an unknown direction."

"It was your obligation to inform us that you had the ship in your custody!" Hock exclaimed angrily. "We have several treaties covering these exact situations! You were supposed to prevent the ship from departing until the Alliance forces could arrive and seize control of the vessel and arrest its crew."

"My apologies for creating a misunderstanding, Councilor Hock," Tevos replied coolly. "We certainly did not intend to act disrespectfully towards the Systems Alliance. I believe that some of our officials simply became confused over the legal status of this ship... SSV Normandy, I believe?"

"What is there to be confused about?" Hock hissed. "It's an Alliance ship! There should be no confusion, are you trying to play games-"

"I assure you, this is no game, Councilor," Tevos spoke, her voice growing chillier with every word. "I am referring to the agreement signed between the Systems Alliance and the Galactic Council on March 23rd of Year 2183, giving the Normandy to be used by the Council's Special Tactics and Reconnaissance agents."

"The Normandy was given to Spectre Shepard specifically for her task to capture Saren Arterius!" Hock protested.

"Essentially, yes... but the official wording was a little broader than that," Tevos smiled thinly, sliding the relevant datapad along the surface of the desk towards Hock. "You can see for yourself, Councilor."

"I remember that," Sparatus nodded, looking amused at his human colleague's anger. "Councilor Tevos is correct. At the time, the Alliance desperately wanted to make nice with the Council, so it was considered as something of a... down payment for a future Council seat."

"Ha! You're both wrong," Katherine Hock exclaimed victoriously, pointing at the datapad. "This agreement refers to the SSV Normandy SR-1. There is no mention of Normandy SR-2. Your little scheme is pointless, Councilor Tevos!"

"It is not quite as simple as that, Councilor Hock," Tevos said, picking up another datapad. "What I have here is the Alliance registry data of the Normandy SR-2, after Spectre Shepard had brought the ship back to Earth, following her defeat of the Collectors." She slid this datapad over to Hock as well, the human councilor grabbing it eagerly. "You will find that the registration data are an exact match with those of the Normandy SR-1. And that makes it the same ship for legal purposes."

"Admit it, Hock," Sparatus added mockingly. "Normandy is a Spectre ship. You and the Alliance have no claim to it."

"What? No, I refuse to-" Katherine Hock was about to descend into a loud rant, then suddenly stopping herself for no apparent reason.

_'Enough of this nonsense. A single ship holds no interest to us. You will cease these pursuits.'_

_'But... but they have insulted us with this gesture, the asari and the turians are openly mocking us, making us appear weak before the others! We can't let this stand!' _

_'We will not allow this to stand, 'Councilor'. The human fleets, armed with Reaper upgrades and led by the Leviathan, your new, benevolent masters, will sweep through the galaxy and bring our enemies to kneel before us. But to make it possible, you must concentrate on the larger picture and forget about these petty struggles over a single ship. Focus on the duties we have tasked you with... or suffer the consequences, and the punishment...' _

"Councilor Hock?" Shala'Raan asked, appearing a little concerned over Hock's lengthy and awkward pause. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I..." Katherine tried to quickly recover, cursing inwardly when she saw the others facing her with odd stares. "Excuse me," she swiftly pushed away from the table, turning around to leave, but not before shooting a dark, warning glare to both Tevos and Sparatus.

"Well, that was almost fun," Urdnot Ngagong chuckled. "I was hoping for a little wrestling match between her and our esteemed asari colleague. You know, one of those dignified affairs with gratuitous dress ripping and partial nudity. That would have really made my day."

"Krogan comment crude, expected,"the salarian, Oluara, shook her head. "Still, Hock's sudden departure surprising... alarming. The intentions of the Systems Alliance... vague, mysterious... threatening."

"We need much better intel from Sol," Sparatus ground out, seething with annoyance. "I can't believe that we're still flying blind here. The Alliance have been up to something for years, and we still don't know what it is!"

"Number of agents quadrupled over the past two years, Councilor Sparatus," Oluara argued quickly. "Amounted to little, reports... confusing, denying all our concerns."

"Yes... there is something deeply disturbing at work here," Tevos nodded, allowing herself to appear worried. "Our eyes and ears turn blind and deaf as soon as we drop them into the Sol System... at this point I am reluctant to send more agents, until we know what is happening to our people already there, and why they are sending such... conflicting reports."

"What other steps could we take?" Councilor Shala'Raan asked.

"The Alliance is clearly gearing up for war, and I don't think it's just to bring their colonies in line," Sparatus said decisively. "We should alert our militaries of this potential threat and have them be ready for anything."

"Actions on colony worlds confusing as well," Oluara nodded, blinking rapidly as she spoke with agitation. "Reasons for civilian deportations unclear. Military deployment, labor camps? Reports indicate relocation performed without civilian consent."

"They will continue to insist that it is their own internal matter," Shala'Raan sighed.

"Yes, and that claim is difficult to contest, since they are being particularly careful not to harm our people currently living and working on their colony worlds," Tevos nodded, looking displeased at the lack of options before them. "Unless some opportunity presents itself, we will have to confine ourselves to waiting for the humans to make the first move... and it is a situation I do not relish being in..."

* * *

_Armali, Thessia_

"Honey, I'm home!" Spectre Morgan Shepard shouted as soon as she made her first few steps across the porch leading inside the T'Soni Estate. _Home... for so long, I did not truly know the meaning of the word. The ships I served on were my home as much as anything, especially the Normandy, but in my heart I was still the same old ever-wandering spacer... it simply was not the same as this. One of the most beautiful estates in Armali and probably on the whole Thessia... I did not even notice since when it began to mean so much to me... when I began to truly feel about it as my home. And returning home, to my family... it is quite simply the best feeling I can think of. _

"She's in the downstairs living room on the north wing, together with your mystery guest," Aethyta stepped out of the kitchens to greet her, an enticing looking cocktail glass in her hand. "Oh, and good to have you back, babe... my head is starting to spin from all the coming and going you're doing lately."

"Trust me, Aethyta, it's not exactly by choice," Morgan sighed, giving her father-in-law a genuinely apologetic stare, which predictably did not appear to soften Aethyta's disposition. "Oh, can you tell me who's this mystery guest? Liara wouldn't say..."

"Ha!" Aethyta barked a sharp laugh, before taking a generous swig of her drink. "Far it be for me to spoil Liara's surprise. Go and find out yourself, why don't you?"

Letting out a despondent, petty sigh, Shepard slumped away, dropping her duffel bag at the stairs leading to the upper floor, before she herself proceeded to the remote northern wing and the living room where Liara was apparently entertaining their mystery guest. Upon entering the room, however, Morgan was surprised to notice that Liara was all alone, sitting on the sofa and idly watching the evening news report of the Galactic Broadcasting Network.

"Morgan!" her bondmate rose from the sofa quickly as soon as she noticed Shepard entering. The asari approached her swiftly, the intense, loving hug suggesting that Liara had already forgotten that she was supposed to be mildly irritated with Morgan's actions prior to her recent bout of absence. "Goddess, I know it's only been a few days, but I've missed you already."

"As did I, love," Morgan smiled, as the couple kissed with longing tenderness. "I hurried as fast as I could, it but looks as if I've just missed our surprise visitor? Can you at least tell me who they were and what did they want?"

"But Shepard... they are still here," Liara smiled, a little teasingly. "Haven't you noticed them?"

"Huh?" Morgan blinked, looking around the room but failing to spot anything out of the ordinary. "What are you talking ab-"

She cut herself short, however, upon noticing some movement in one of the corners of the room, behind a large potted plant, accompanied by whirring, metallic noises. "Shepard-Commander," a very familiar geth platform spoke, stepping into the view from behind the plant. "It is good to see you in good health."

"Legion!" Morgan exclaimed happily, going over to shake hands with their synthetic friend. "Excellent to see you as well... it has been some time! Of all the visitors I could think of, I confess did not expect you, but it's certainly a nice surprise! What brings you to Thessia?"

"Shepard-Commander recently requested the aid of the geth consensus in monitoring the Sigurd's Cradle cluster for suspicious activity," Legion replied in his emotionless, metallic voice. "We believe we have obtained information that you will find to be of extreme importance, Shepard-Commander, even if we cannot extrapolate any connection between this particular piece of intel and the missing organics that were at the center of your search, Shepard-Commander."

"Uh... so, you're saying that while searching for Riley and Cyntria's sister, you have found something else, possibly even more important?" Morgan asked. "Well, what is it, Legion? Tell us."

"Of course," Legion continued, switching off the news broadcast that Liara had been watching and preparing to upload something onto the vid screen. "Shepard-Commander, you might wish to be seated when we finish uploading the images."

"Do as Legion says," Liara spoke quietly, Morgan's mouth frozen in unspoken question as she shrugged and sat down next to her bondmate.

"Eight standard galactic days ago, a surveillance probe launched into one of the most remote systems of Sigurd's Cradle, Psi Tophet, managed to capture the following image," Legion explained. "We lost contact with the probe immediately after. We assume that it was destroyed."

"Destroyed? By whom?" Morgan demanded harshly.

"By this," Legion replied simply, finally uploading the image onto the vid screen.

Morgan's only reaction was a savage scream of utter disbelief and dismay as she stared at the all too familiar silhouette in the picture... the dark, almost pitch black giant insect shape of what was unmistakably a lone Reaper capital ship against the bright backdrop of the star of Psi Tophet...


End file.
